


In the Dead of Leaf-Bare

by castasticallydean



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen, Original Cat Clans (Warriors), Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 35,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26638594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castasticallydean/pseuds/castasticallydean
Summary: Flowerpaw is a sullen, frustrated apprentice. Fawnkit doesn’t know if she’ll be able to become a warrior. Sunpaw has almost finished her apprenticeship and is truly dedicated to her Clan. What do these she-cats have in common? They’re the only thing standing between RainClan and utter destruction.RainClan and MossClan have been allies for many moons. Peace has existed in the forest since the fall of SmokeClan. Coyotes are the biggest threat to the cats, and the Clan has their paws full dealing with them. When new issues present themselves, Fawnkit, Flowerpaw, and Sunpaw will have to work together to protect their Clan and the ones they love.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I’ve been out of the warriors fandom for a really long time, but realized I really loved it and decided to write a fic. Sorry if it’s not great or if the lore is off, but I figured I’d share it anyways! Sorry for any formatting issues, I’m posting on my phone.

**ALLEIGANCES**

**RainClan**

**Leader** : Sparrowstar - Chocolate colored she-cat with blue eyes.

 **Deputy** : Heronfoot - Ginger tabby tom with amber eyes and very long legs.  
  
 _Apprentice, Thornpaw_

 **Medicine** **Cat** : Vinepelt - Long-haired black tom with blue eyes and very messy fur.

 **Warriors** :

Spruceclaw - Dark brown classic tabby she-cat with green eyes. Talented fighter.

_Apprentice, Larkpaw_

Sumactail - Dark red she-cat with a fluffy tail and yellow eyes.

Robinwing - Long-haired pale gray and white tom with yellow eyes.

Cricketcall - Black tom with green eyes and an extremely loud voice.

_Apprentice, Mintpaw_

Finchstripe - Light brown tom with a darker brown stripe down his back and blue eyes.

Wrensong - Small white she-cat with some brown tabby patches and amber eyes.

_Apprentice, Alderpaw_

Rabbitnose - Charcoal gray tom with amber eyes who has a strong sense of smell.

Deerleap - Brown seal point she-cat with pale blue eyes who is extremely agile.

_Apprentice, Flowerpaw_

Swanflight - Lithe white she-cat with blue eyes.

Eagleclaw - Tan tom with gray eyes, blind in his left eye.

Daisypetal - Long-haired ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes.

Crowflight - Charcoal gray tom with piercing yellow eyes, one ear missing.

_Apprentice, Sunpaw_

Falconwing - Cream-colored tabby tom with emerald green eyes.

Aspenfur - Thin brown and white tabby tom with amber eyes.

Owleyes - Black and white tom with very large amber eyes.

 **Apprentices** :

Sunpaw- Light golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

Larkpaw- Pale gray she-cat with one green and one blue eye.

Mintpaw- small white tom with green eyes.

Flowerpaw- Dark calico she-cat with yellow eyes.

Thornpaw- Gray and white tom with yellow eyes.

Alderpaw- Dark ginger tabby tom with white feet and belly and green eyes

 **Queens** :

Cloverstem - Charcoal gray she-cat with vivid green eyes.

-Fawnkit- Gray and white she-cat with green eyes who is wobbly on her feet. - 

-Pebblekit- Mottled gray tom with blue eyes.

-Thistlekit- Spotted light gray tabby tom with amber eyes.

Appleflower - Tortoiseshell she-cat with gray eyes.

-Hazelkit- Golden brown and white tabby she-cat with amber eyes. 

-Rosekit - Calico she-cat with yellow eyes.

Willowleaf - White she-cat with amber eyes.

 **Elders** :

Lilytail - Blue-gray she-cat with amber eyes.

Ravenfur - Black tom with blue eyes.

Ashcloud - Dark gray tabby tom with white feet and green eyes.

**MossClan**

**Leader:** Foxstar - Dark orange tabby tom with green eyes and a white tail tip.

 **Deputy:** Quailfeather - Brown tabby tom with green eyes.

_Apprentice, Greenpaw_

**Medicine Cat:** Whiterose - Reddish brown and white tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes. 

**Warriors:**

Maplesong - Light tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes.

Beechstripe - Dark gray tabby tom with yellow eyes.

Acorntail - Light brown tabby tom with blue eyes and a short tail.

Mistflower - Gray and white tabby she-cat with amber eyes. 

_Apprentice, Turtlepaw_

Nettletail - Light brown and white tabby tom with blue eyes.

Frozenstream - Blue-gray she-cat with green eyes.

Hawktalon - Gray and white tabby tom with light green eyes.

Shadowfur - Dark gray tabby tom with black stripes and amber eyes.

Moonfur - Blue gray tabby seal point she-cat with light blue eyes.

Mouseclaw - Small, very weak brown tabby tom with green eyes.

Berrypelt - Reddish brown she-cat with amber eyes.

_Apprentice, Spiderpaw_

Shadewhisper- Pale gray and white tabby she-cat with green eyes.

Stripetail- White tom with brown ears and light brown stripes on his tail, amber eyes.

**Apprentices:**

Greenpaw- Brown and white tabby she-cat with gray eyes.

Turtlepaw- Black and white tom with amber eyes.

Spiderpaw- Charcoal gray and white tom with blue eyes.

**Queens:**

Hazelstorm - Golden brown and white tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

-Waspkit- Light ginger tabby tom with amber eyes.

Brightwhisker- Black and white she-cat with one missing eye, the other eye is gray.

-Patchkit- Mostly white tom with black patches and gray eyes.

-Fernkit- Black and white she-cat with amber eyes.

-Palekit- White she-cat with gray eyes.

**Elders:**

Gingerfur - Light golden she-cat with green eyes.

Fogstep- Gray and white tabby tom with blue eyes.

  
  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter One**  
  
Flowerpaw barrelled into Thornpaw, grabbing him by the scruff and throwing him to the ground. He gasped at the impact, rolling over quickly to avoid her second strike. She snarled, slashing at him again, but he burst from underneath her to pin her down, expression haughty.  
  
She winced as she felt his claws digging into her shoulders, much harder than their mock battle warranted. “Get off me, Thornpaw,” she spat.

“That’s enough.” Heronfoot, the Clan deputy and Thornpaw’s mentor, walked over to them as Thornpaw scowled and released Flowerpaw.

Flowerpaw pushed to her feet, shaking out her calico fur. “I almost had him,” she grumbled.

Heronfoot pointedly ignored her. “Good job, Thornpaw. Using that move allowed you to gain the upper hand. In battle, deceptive moves are often the most successful.”

Flowerpaw stalked away from him, heading towards her mentor, Deerleap, who sat at the edge of the clearing. _Those two are suited for one another,_ she thought angrily. They’re both awful. She sat down next to her mentor, digging her claws into the dirt.

Deerleap flicked her ear at Flowerpaw. “Don’t worry. You did well. Heronfoot is just too invested in Thornpaw’s progress to acknowledge it. He’s older and stronger than you, so it’s impressive that you held your own at all.”  
  
Flowerpaw sighed, watching Heronfoot wax poetic about Thornpaw’s progress. “It isn’t fair that the leader’s kit is being trained by the deputy. He gets a massive advantage.”  
  
Deerleap chuckled, batting at Flowerpaw playfully. “I know that it aggravates you, Flowerpaw. But I can’t believe you’d insult my mentoring like that!” She widened her eyes in mock hurt, then stood up. “Next time I’ll be the one judging the match. Don’t worry.” She began padding back towards the RainClan camp.  
  
Flowerpaw hurried to follow her, feeling the cooling air of leaf-fall whisk by as she trotted through the forest. She felt like she should be more excited about her warrior training than she was. She had only been an apprentice for a moon, and her sister, Larkpaw, and brother, Mintpaw, were always bursting with new, exciting things that they had learned. They spouted them to their mother and father and always seemed so thrilled to participate in mock battles and daily patrols. Flowerpaw just didn’t feel that way. She had been excited in the beginning, but something just wasn’t sitting right with her. Heronfoot was the deputy of the Clan, and so he held a significant amount of power. She didn’t feel that it was fair that Thornpaw received so much attention from Heronfoot and their leader, Sparrowstar, just because he was the deputy’s apprentice and the leader’s kit.

Ducking under the tangle of vines and thorns that encircled the camp, Flowerpaw and Deerleap made their way into the main clearing. Cats sat around, enjoying the warmth of the midday sun. Soon it would be leafbare, and the sun would not offer so much warmth.  
  
Flowerpaw noticed her littermates sitting near the apprentice’s den and bounded over to them. “Hey, guys. What are you up to?”

Mintpaw stretched, his white coat gleaming in the sunlight. “We were just sharing tongues. Apparently Cricketcall and I are on dusk patrol tonight. I can’t wait!”  
  
Flowerpaw flicked her tail in annoyance. “Thornpaw beat me in our practice battle.” She looked between her siblings, gauging their reactions.

Larkpaw turned in a circle, laying down and resting her head on her paws. “I don’t know what else you expected, Flowerpaw. If I were you, I wouldn’t be so bitter. You and Thornpaw will be evenly matched one day.”  
  
Flowerpaw grunted unhappily.

Just then, one of the senior warriors, Daisypetal, approached them. She had a sleek ginger and white coat with a large scar parting the fur of her chest. “Apprentices, we are running low on fresh-kill. Sparrowstar is sending you on a hunting patrol.”  
  
“Just us?” Mintpaw’s eyes were wide. “We’ve never gone alone before. We’ve always had a warrior with us.”

Daisypetal dipped her head. “She feels that you are ready for your first independent patrol. Do not let us down. You all know that leaf-bare will be here soon, and we must be as strong as possible.”

The three apprentices got to their feet, Flowerpaw somewhat reluctantly. “Of course, Daisypetal,” meowed Larkpaw. Flicking their tails in farewell, they headed for the camp exit.  
  
Flowerpaw’s stomach rumbled. “I’m starving. I was hoping for a meal after that training session, but instead I get sent on a hunting patrol. As if there aren’t warriors to do this.”  
  
Larkpaw rolled her eyes. “Flowerpaw, think of someone other than yourself for once. You wouldn’t have gotten to eat until after the elders, anyways, and if there isn’t enough prey for them, there certainly isn’t for us. Anyways, it's an honor to be sent on a solo hunting trip this early in our training.”

Flowerpaw just turned away from her siblings and slunk into the underbrush. “I’m hunting alone. I’ll meet you back at camp.” She was sick of being told that she should appreciate doing stupid, simple tasks that anyone could do. She pushed through the ferns that lined the forest floor, alert for the scent of prey. The scent of chipmunk hit the roof of her mouth, and she dropped into a hunting crouch.  
The creature sat a few tail lengths in front of her, nibbling on something. She stalked forward, trying to keep her hindquarters low, as Deerleap had taught her. As she got close, she shot forward and caught the chipmunk between her paws, killing it with a swift bite to the throat. A rush of satisfaction flooded through her. _I may not be able to beat Thornpaw, but at least I can feed the Clan._ She suddenly felt guilty for how she had treated her littermates. She knew that she shouldn’t have taken her anger out on them, but she’d felt so frustrated that she didn’t know what else to do. She brushed some dirt over the chipmunk to return to later.  
  
Just as she was about to head toward a clearing that was good for hunting, she heard a noise that made her ears swivel. It sounded like a cat, deep in conversation. She crept under a nearby bush, opening her mouth to taste the scents of the cat. _Finchstripe… and someone else?_

The voice got closer, with another voice joining into the conversation. “Finchstripe, please. It’s not solely my fault. You’re just as responsible for this as I am.”

Flowerpaw stiffened. This didn’t sound like a patrol. She recognized the other voice as Swanflight, a beautiful white she-cat who had only been made a warrior a few moons ago. _What is she talking about?_

She heard Finchstripe scoff. “Swanflight, you’ve been mooning after me for ages. Willowleaf knows that. You know I can’t betray her by telling her.”

“But I can’t just not say who the father of my kits is! The Clan will think it’s a rogue or something!” Swanflight sounded desperate.

Flowerpaw felt deeply uncomfortable. This was an extremely private conversation, from what she could gather. Finchstripe’s mate was Willowleaf, a white she-cat who was currently expecting kits in the nursery. Swanflight had been his apprentice, and if she was truly carrying his kits, it would be a massive scandal. _At least I know he has a type,_ Flowerpaw thought sarcastically.  
  
Hunting forgotten, Flowerpaw turned and snuck back the way she had come, digging up her chipmunk on the way. Her mind was spinning. If Swanflight was pregnant, then they would have four nursing queens in the nursery when leafbare came. She didn’t know how the Clan would be able to catch enough prey to keep the kits alive. Flowerpaw had yet to live through a leaf-bare, but from the stories she’d been told, when there wasn’t enough food to go around in the cold, things could become dire very quickly.

Worry curled in her gut, and she decided to continue hunting. Even if she didn’t know how they would fare in leaf-bare, at least they could begin the season strong.

  
————

  
Flowerpaw came trotting back into the camp near dusk, carefully holding two rabbits and her chipmunk between her teeth. She deposited them on the fresh-kill pile and headed towards the apprentices den. She made her way inside, heading to Mintpaw and Larkpaw’s nests in the corner. Mintpaw was gone, Flowerpaw assumed on the dusk patrol, but Larkpaw lay asleep.

Flowerpaw nudged her littermate. “Larkpaw, I need to talk to you.”

Larkpaw let out a meow of irritation, opening her different-colored eyes and giving Flowerpaw a flat glare. “What? I was having a dream about becoming leader.”

“I saw something in the woods.” Flowerpaw glanced around to ensure that none of the other apprentices were in the den. She dropped her voice. “Apparently Swanflight is expecting Finchstripe’s kits.”

Larkpaw seemed to be shocked into full alertness. “What?” She narrowed her eyes. “This is a stupid joke, right? He was her mentor!”

“No, I don’t think it is. It sounded real. She was really upset. But it didn’t sound like Finchstripe was planning on telling Willowleaf.”

Larkpaw stood, licking down a tuft of light gray fur on her chest. “We have to tell Willowleaf. She’ll be devastated, but it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know if there’s anything in the warrior code about betraying your mate… But it’s still wrong.” She marched out of the den, flicking her tail for Flowerpaw to follow her.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_ Flowerpaw thought as she trailed after her sister. They made their way towards the nursery, Flowerpaw lingering behind. She didn’t know what to do or say. What if Willowleaf didn’t believe her?  
  
“Willowleaf, we need to speak with you.” Larkpaw meowed into the nursery.  
The white she-cat waddled outside, her belly swollen with kits.

 _She can’t be far away from having them,_ thought Flowerpaw nervously. Maybe we shouldn’t tell her? What if the stress is too much? “Larkpaw, maybe-”  
  
Larkpaw shot her a glare, silencing her, then turned her attention back to Willowleaf. “I don’t know how to say this,” she said quietly, “but Flowerpaw overheard Finchstripe and Swanflight talking. It seems that she may be expecting his kits. I’m so sorry.”

Willowleaf froze, her amber eyes filling with pain. “What? No, no, that can’t be possible.” She took a gasping breath. “He loves me! We’re going to have a family!”

Larkpaw laid her tail on Willowleaf’s shoulder. “Breathe, Willowleaf. It’s going to be alright. Let’s go see Vinepelt and get you some poppy seeds, so you can relax.” She led Willowleaf toward the overhang where the medicine cat made his den.  
  
Flowerpaw gazed after them. She didn’t know how her sister was so calm and collected in difficult situations. She padded after them, hoping that she hadn’t hurt Willowleaf too badly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Fawnkit wobbled to her feet, scrambling over the edge of the nest. “I’m going outside!” she declared.

Her littermates had been outside for most of the morning, but her mother had said that she needed to rest before she joined them. She was becoming impatient, and had decided that it was her time to have fun.

Her mother, Cloverstem, purred behind her, amused. “Alright, Fawnkit. Make sure that you stay by your littermates. Be careful.”

Fawnkit stampeded as hard as her unsteady legs would carry her out of the entrance to the nursery, the bright sunlight blinding her as she entered the main camp. She blinked a few times to adjust and then scanned the camp to find her siblings, Pebblekit and Thistlekit. They were play fighting near the RainStone, the sacred rock that the leader and medicine cat received their visions from. Fawnkit bristled with excitement and made her way over to them, trying her best to walk as normally as possible. “Hi guys! What are you playing?”

Pebblekit and Thistlekit stopped wrestling and looked up at their sister.

“Hi, Fawnkit!” Mewed Thistlekit. “We’re playing RainClan against the coyote pack, but I’m not sure you’d be able to play…”

Pebblekit jumped to his feet and perked his ears up. “I know! You can be our medicine cat! Then you don’t have to move too much.”

Fawnkit felt her heart sink. _I just want to play with my brothers normally_ , she thought. “I want to be a warrior!” She announced.

Pebblekit and Thistlekit exchanged a glance. “Okay…” said Pebblekit. Fawnkit clumsily leapt forward. “Who’s the coyote?”

I am!” Shrieked Thistlekit, leaping away from her.

Fawnkit launched herself towards him, landing relatively well and managing to bundle into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground. “Ha! I’ve got you!” They scrapped together for a few moments, but Thistlekit managed to squeeze out of her grasp and get away from her. She watched as Pebblekit began to chase him, and they both made their way across the clearing. She tried to follow, but couldn’t manage to move as quickly as she wanted to. She had to focus so much on taking every step that it was difficult to move quickly. She sat down in the warm grass, defeated. She didn’t know why they couldn’t just wait for her. It wouldn’t be that hard.

Pawsteps approached from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder. It was Vinepelt, the RainClan medicine cat. He had long, tangled black fur that made him look quite intimidating, but Fawnkit thought he was nice.

“Hello, Fawnkit,” he meowed softly. “What are you up to?”

“I was playing with my brothers,” she grumbled. “But they ran over there and I couldn’t keep up.” She flicked her tail towards where her littermates wrestled on the far side of the clearing.

Vinepelt tilted his head sympathetically. “Why don’t you come with me? You can help me give the elders some herbs.”

Fawnkit huffed in exasperation. _I know where this is going,_ she thought. “I don’t want to be a medicine cat,” she said bluntly.

He chuckled. “I’m not asking you to be a medicine cat right now, Fawnkit. I’m just asking you to lend me a paw.”

She stared at him for a moment, eyes narrowed. “...Fine.” Getting to her feet, she painstakingly put one paw in front of the other, trying to walk as steadily as possible as they made their way towards the medicine cat’s den. They reached it, and Vinepelt flicked his ear at her as a signal to wait and disappeared into the cave. He reemerged a few moments later, a leaf filled with herbs clutched in his teeth.

They padded to the elders’ den, which sat very near to the medicine cat’s. It was a tall, overgrown evergreen bush with plenty of room underneath, and the sides had been closed off by a large amount of thorns to make the den as secure as possible.

As they entered the den, Vinepelt set down his bundle of herbs and unrolled the leaf. “Here.” He nudged a few poppy seeds in her direction. “Give one each to Lilytail and Ashcloud.” He went to work checking the elders for ticks as she carried the poppy seeds first to Lilytail.

“Here you go,” Fawnkit mewed. She pushed a poppy seed in front of Lilytail.

The blue-gray she-cat blinked her amber eyes in appreciation and swallowed it. “Thank you, Fawnkit. Getting ready for your apprenticeship, are you?”

Fawnkit scowled. “No. I’m going to be a warrior.”

“Fawnkit, you have to start thinking realistically,” the elder murmured. “The medicine cat is a deeply respected position, and Vinepelt has been waiting for a suitable apprentice for many moons. You have been chosen by StarClan for a greater purpose.”

Fawnkit flattened her ears to her head and stomped across the den to Ashcloud as quickly as she could. “Here.” She pushed the poppy seed forward and sat, sulking.

Ashcloud’s eyes glimmered. “Don’t listen to Lilytail,” he whispered. “I think you’d make a wonderful warrior. You have the spirit for it, Fawnkit.”

Fawnkit pricked her ears forward again. “Really?” She was excited. No cat had said that to her before

“Yes,” purred Ashcloud. “My littermate was deaf, you know. And she still finished her warrior training.”

“What happened to her?” Fawnkit asked curiously.

Ashcloud looked sad for a moment. “She was killed in a battle with the coyotes. She died bravely.”

“I’m sorry, Ashcloud.” Fawnkit dipped her head in respect. “But thank you for what you said. I know it now. I’ll be the best warrior this Clan has ever seen!” She turned and scrambled out of the elders’ den, ignoring Vinepelt and the others. She needed to speak with her mother.

When she got back to the nursery, Cloverstem was sitting in the rear of the den, forehead touching Willowleaf’s. Willowleaf looked very upset. She had been missing the night before, and Fawnkit had wondered if something was wrong. Cloverstem got to her feet when she saw her kit and made her way over to her.

“Mama!” Fawnkit flopped into their nest. “I’m going to be a warrior, not a medicine cat.”

“Fawnkit, we’ve talked about this. You’re going to be apprenticed to Vinepelt, and you’re going to be a wonderful medicine cat.” Cloverstem groomed her daughter’s gray and white pelt as she spoke. “You aren’t suited to be a warrior, my darling.”

“No!” Fawnkit vehemently protested. “I know what I’m meant to be. Ashcloud says that his sister was a warrior, even though she was deaf. I’ll work extra hard if I have to. But I’m going to become an apprentice in two moons, and I’m going to be a warrior!”

Cloverstem sighed. “Yes, Cloudfang was a great warrior. But being deaf and having trouble walking are two very different things.”

“I know,” meowed Fawnkit, wincing as her mother worked at a tangle on her back. “I just mean that if one cat who was different could do it, why can’t I?”

Her mother was silent for a few moments.”I’ll speak with Sparrowstar for you, Fawnkit. But I can’t promise anything.”

“Thank you!” Fawnkit twitched her whiskers with happiness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Today, Sunpaw was becoming a warrior. She had been in training for moons and had worked hard to get where she was. After their final assessment yesterday, she and her littermate were finally achieving what they had been working towards for their entire lives. She felt as though she were on top of the world, but that was dampened by the fact that her mother was currently grooming her like a kit. “Daisypetal, _ please _ . I’m going to be a warrior today. I can groom myself!”

Daisypetal narrowed her eyes at her kit, spitting out a ball of ginger fur. “Sunpaw, it’s normal to share tongues. Cats do it every day. I already groomed Alderpaw, so now it’s your turn.”

Alderpaw gave his sister a pleading look from where he sat beside them, his dark ginger fur gleaming in the sunlight. “Just go with it, Sunpaw,” he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

She rolled her eyes but shut her mouth as her mother began licking her ears as if her life depended on it.

“You need to look perfect for your warrior ceremonies.” Daisypetal continued grooming, but her ears drooped a little. “Your father would be so proud,” she meowed wistfully. 

Their father, Stonetail, had died in a greencough epidemic a few moons before. It was still very difficult for Sunpaw to think about her father without getting upset. She knew that he was watching over them from StarClan, but that didn’t make it any easier to be without him. Deep in thought, she allowed her mother to continue for a few moments and then shook her off. “I’m going to eat something before the ceremony, okay?”

Sunpaw padded towards the fresh-kill, which was kept tucked inside a hollow tree to protect it from the elements. She picked a vole out of the pile and moved towards the apprentices’ den to devour it.  _ This will be the last time I have to eat here _ , she thought with satisfaction. _ Soon I’ll be eating by the warriors’ den. _

She finished the vole and stood, shaking out her light ginger and white fur. Now she just had to wait for Sparrowstar to call the gathering. It shouldn’t be long now.

“Hi, Sunpaw!” Mintpaw’s voice broke into her train of thought. “I bet you’re excited!” The younger apprentice gazed up at her with wide green eyes. The white tom was small for his age, and he looked like a kit compared to her.

“Of course,” meowed Sunpaw. She knew that Mintpaw had a crush on her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable. He had been wandering after her since their kithood, always wanting to be where she was.

Mintpaw stretched confidently. “I bet I’ll become a warrior soon. Then we can have nests next to one another!”

Laughing uncomfortably, Sunpaw meowed, “You’ve only been an apprentice for a moon. You have a lot of training left to go.” She looked across the clearing, making eye contact with Alderpaw. “Oh, I think Alderpaw wants to talk to me. I’ve got to go!”

Mintpaw looked crestfallen. “Oh, okay.”

She made a straight shot across the clearing to her brother. “Oh, thank StarClan. I was afraid that he was going to ask me to be official or something.” She sat next to Alderpaw, affectionately bumping him with her forehead.

He chuckled. “If that happened, it would have made my moon. When is that kit going to realize that you’re not interested?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “He might be the most oblivious cat I’ve ever met.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the last glow of the evening sun on their fur. Soon enough, Sparrowstar emerged from her den and headed for the fallen tree that she made announcements from, and Sunpaw felt a rush of energy and anxiety flow through her body. 

The dark brown she-cat scanned the clearing, pausing at Sunpaw and Alderpaw and nodding at them. “It is time for one of the most important moments of a young cat’s life,” she meowed loudly. “Today, Sunpaw and Alderpaw become full warriors of RainClan.” 

Cats trickled from across the camp to sit before the fallen tree, gazing up at their leader. 

Sunpaw made her way to the front of the camp, her brother close behind her. _ I can’t believe that this is finally happening,  _ she thought. She stood next to Alderpaw, waiting to be called up, trembling slightly with anticipation. 

“Alderpaw,” meowed Sparrowstar. “Please join me on the fallen tree in order to receive your warrior name.”

He raised his head, green eyes glowing with pride, and jumped up to stand next to Sparrowstar.

“You have worked hard in your apprenticeship, showing true talent as a fighter. Wrensong has spoken well of you, and agrees that you are more than ready to become a warrior. Alderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and put loyalty to your Clan above all else?”

“Yes,” he meowed quietly.

“Will you show bravery and resolve, and dedicate your life to supporting RainClan?”

“Yes.”

Sparrowpaw nodded, satisfied. “Then, Alderpaw, I name you Alderheart, warrior of RainClan.”

Alderheart dipped his head respectfully, but Sunpaw could see that he could barely contain his joy. He returned to stand next to Sunpaw.

“Sunpaw, I call you to receive your warrior name.”

Sunpaw gracefully made her way onto the fallen tree, padding to face Sparrowstar. Her heart was racing. 

“Crowflight tells me that you are just as talented as your brother in every fight. He speaks of your unrelenting perseverance and your depth of character. Sunpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and put loyalty to your Clan above all else?”

“Yes,” Sunpaw murmured.

“Will you show bravery and resolve, and dedicate your life to supporting RainClan?”

“Yes.”

“Then, Sunpaw, I name you Sundapple, warrior of RainClan.”

The Clan erupted into cheers below them. Sunpaw returned to the ground, refraining from speaking to uphold the vigil that she would have to sit tonight, but dipping her head to acknowledge the congratulations being yowled at her and Alderheart. 

Crowflight, her former mentor, brushed his tail along her shoulder as he appeared at her side. “You’ve earned this, Sundapple,” he meowed warmly. “I couldn’t have asked for a better apprentice.”

She looked at him gratefully and made her way to the camp entrance, joining Alderheart, who had gotten there before her. They exchanged a glance, excited for the first night of the rest of their lives.

Hours passed. Sundapple and Alderheart sat by the entrance tunnel, muscles cramping in the leaf-fall chill. Sundapple could feel the creep of exhaustion sinking into her bones, and she shook her head to clear it. The last thing that she wanted was to fall asleep during her vigil, even though she knew that Alderheart would wake her up. She stared into the darkness of the tunnel, listening to the crickets and frogs croaking in the forest. _ My first patrol as a warrior will be at dusk tomorrow, _ she thought.  _ It’s going to be so strange.  _ She flexed her claws, trying to get some feeling back into her legs. 

Suddenly, she heard a noise from behind her. She turned around, only to see something completely different than what she expected. The RainClan camp was gone. Instead, what she saw was a beautiful, misty forest. The stars shone brighter above than any that she had ever seen before. She gazed ahead, trying to figure out what had happened.

A cat stepped out of the shadows, making their way around a tree and stopping a few pawsteps ahead of her. “Sundapple.” His gray fur shone with starlight, and his amber eyes sparkled with a wisdom beyond what he’d had in life. 

She couldn’t breathe. She looked him up and down, trying to figure out how she’d fallen asleep. “Father?”

He dipped his head. “I am very proud of you. I have been watching your training from afar. You truly have earned your warrior name.”

“Why am I here?” Asked Sundapple. It didn’t seem like any dream she’d ever had before. “Is this a vision?”

Stonetail chuckled. “Yes, Sundapple. I was lucky enough to be able to deliver it myself.”

She flicked an ear. “But why me? Why not Sparrowstar, or Vinepelt? I’m barely a warrior.” 

“I am only the messenger, Sundapple. I do not claim to know the purpose behind any of this.” He paused. “I only know that I love you, and I wanted to say it to you one last time. I wish that I could tell Alderheart and Daisypetal the same.”

Sundapple briefly pressed her nose to her father’s. It was cold, but still firm and corporeal. “I understand.”

“Sundapple, hard times are coming. StarClan has sent me with an important message for you. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she meowed, trying to calm her spinning thoughts. 

“In times when trees are bare and dead, the clan is filled with grief and dread. A hunger great shall fill the land, one in which they cannot withstand. Fawn and Flower come with spring, to help prevent the deadly sting.” Stonetail gazed at her solemnly. “Be brave, my daughter. Hard times are coming, but you will prevail.”

She watched him begin to disappear. “Wait!” She yowled. “I don’t understand, please!”

Stonetail faded from view too quickly to respond to her. Sundapple blinked, and suddenly she was back in the camp. Night surrounded her, and her brother looked curiously at her from the other side of the thorn tunnel. She flicked her ears to tell him that nothing was wrong, settling back into a comfortable crouch.  _ What just happened?  _ She asked herself.  _ Why did I receive the prophecy?  _ She promised herself that she would tell Vinepelt in the morning. He was more approachable than Sparrowstar, and she felt that he was more likely to believe her.  _ Oh, StarClan _ , she thought.  _ What have you gotten me into? _


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Flowerpaw sat at the edge of camp, looking curiously towards the nursery. She’d seen Finchstripe slink inside earlier, and had heard some yowling from both Willowleaf and Swanflight that did not bode well for the tom. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of the wrath of two angry, pregnant she-cats. 

Swanflight had officially announced that she was expecting kits the day before, and from what Flowerpaw had heard, she had told Sparrowstar the truth about the father. Sparrowstar sat Finchstripe down for a stern talk, and apparently he was now saddled with the responsibility of caring for the elders for the next moon.

_ At least that’ll make life easier for the apprentices _ , Flowerpaw thought, amused. 

She watched Finchstripe stalk out of the nursery, ears pinned flat to his head and his light brown fur standing on end. He glared at her from across the clearing. He began to approach her, and she felt her fur begin to puff out in fear. 

_ Oh, no, _ she realized. _ He knows _ . She looked around desperately, but there were no other cats around to act as a buffer.

“Flowerpaw,” hissed Finchstripe. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You couldn’t have just kept your mouth shut? It was none of your business.” He stalked in a circle around her, lashing his tail back and forth.

She laughed, more out of fear than amusement. “ _ I  _ didn’t do anything, Finchstripe. That was all you.”

Finchstripe let out a low, threatening growl. “You’ve made a mistake, you mouse-brained kit. You’ve lost me my mate and the love of my future kits. It’s Swanflight’s fault that she’s pregnant, not mine.”

“You were her mentor!” Flowerpaw spat. “You took advantage of her. You disgust me.” 

He narrowed his icy blue eyes. “You’ll regret this. Watch your back, Flowerpaw.” He turned and marched towards the elders’ den.

Flowerpaw sighed with relief, turning tail and sprinting back towards the apprentices’ den. “Larkpaw, Mintpaw, we have a problem.” She flopped into her nest, rolling onto her back and staring at the vines above her.

“What?” Mintpaw sounded sleepy. “What kind of problem?”

“It’s Finchstripe,” she meowed. “He’s, uh, out to get me.”

Larkpaw shot to her feet, sticking her face far too close to Flowerpaw’s for comfort. “But he’s being punished for what he did! Why is he upset with you?”

Flowerpaw batted at her sister with a paw. “Get out of my face, Larkpaw. He thinks it’s my fault because I’m the one who overheard them, and the reason that Willowleaf found out.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to get caught on my own with that tom. He was really nasty.”

“We won’t let you!” Mintpaw announced. “Anyways, he’d never dare to hurt you. Can you imagine the punishment he’d get for that?”

Flowerpaw sighed and rolled back onto her stomach. “Mintpaw, you’re so naive. I’m sure that Finchstripe can figure out a way to hurt me without getting in trouble himself. We need to be extra careful.” She stood back up, licking some moss off of her shoulder. “I’m going to go see what the deal is with Swanflight and Willowleaf. Will one of you come with me?”

“Yeah,” meowed Larkpaw, pushing to her feet. 

Mintpaw looked disappointed. “Can I come too?”

“I don’t want to overwhelm them,” responded Flowerpaw. “Go follow Sundapple around or something.” She flicked her tail and led Larkpaw out of the den.

“That was sort of mean, Flowerpaw,” meowed her sister. 

Flowerpaw slowed until they were side by side and fixed Larkpaw with a flat stare. “Am I wrong? That’s all he does other than train.” She chuckled.

Larkpaw shook her head. “You’re not wrong, but that doesn’t mean that you should have said it. You know he feels left out a lot.”

Flowerpaw huffed. “If he feels so left out, maybe he should grow up so he’s actually fun to hang out with.”

Her sister’s light gray pelt bristled, and she looked irritated. She bounded ahead of Flowerpaw to the nursery. They entered, finding Swanflight and Willowleaf in the front of the den. However, they didn’t seem to be fighting, instead, they were murmuring quietly to one another, looking sad. 

“Hi,” meowed Flowerpaw shyly. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

Swanflight rested her head on her paws, gazing at the ground. “We’re alright. I apologized to Willowleaf for what I did, but she’s being really nice about it.” She gave the other she-cat an appreciative glance. 

“That piece of fox-dung is out of both of our lives now,” meowed Willowleaf, strength shining in her eyes. “I don’t want my kits growing up with a father like that, and neither does Swanflight.” She brushed her cheek against the younger she-cat’s. 

“That’s great,” meowed Larkpaw. “I’m sorry that you had to find out the way you did,” she said to Willowleaf.

Willowleaf shook her head. “I’m just glad that you told me. I think that it was better for Swanflight, too. Now at least we both know that Finchstripe isn’t worth our time.”

Flowerpaw heard Deerleap yowl her name from outside. “I’ve got to go,” she meowed. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Willowleaf dipped her head in response, and Flowerpaw left to find her mentor. 

Deerleap stood by the apprentices’ den, her seal-point coat gleaming in the sunlight. “There you are. We’re going on a border patrol.”

Flowerpaw twitched her ears in confusion. “But it’s midday.”

“Coyotes have been spotted near the border with MossClan. We need to go check it out.” She inclined her head to where the rest of the patrol stood, ready to leave, then padded to join them.

Wrensong, a senior warrior, took the lead, moving through the forest at a steady lope. She dodged thorns and branches, burrs getting stuck in her mostly white coat. She was small, but Flowerpaw knew that she could be formidable when she wanted to. She had seen a number of battles in her time, and she bore scars on her ears, which were both shredded.

The patrol also included Sumactail and Rabbitnose, two younger warriors who were still eager to prove themselves. Sumactail was a fluffy reddish she-cat, always ready with a joke, and Rabbitnose was a shy, charcoal gray tom who was talented at scenting.

Flowerpaw was in the middle of the group, running quickly to keep up with the older cats. They had leaped over the creek that flowed through RainClan territory, and she had barely managed to keep her paws dry. Now they scrambled up the steep hill that led to the northern border and MossClan territory. At the top of the hill, they paused, gazing at the ancient two-leg fence line that marked the border. 

Rabbitnose opened his mouth slightly, scenting. “I can smell coyote,” he murmured. “But it’s faint.” He turned in a circle. “That way,” he meowed, pointing his tail to their right and racing off before anyone could respond. 

The other cats followed, speeding quietly through the underbrush. Suddenly, Rabbitnose stopped, and the rest of them skidded to a halt, Flowerpaw almost slamming into Sumactail.

“I smell blood.” Rabbitnose looked back at Wrensong. “Cat blood. I think it’s MossClan.”

She went ahead of him, and they crept along, slowly this time. As they moved, the scent grew stronger, and Flowerpaw began to hear the sound of cats screeching and yowling, and the occasional yelp of a coyote. 

_ Is this what battle sounds like? _ Flowerpaw thought to herself. She’d never been in a battle before. The closest she had come was when a border patrol she had been on had nearly gotten into a scuffle with a loner, but they had managed to scare him off.

“Wait here,” Deerleap told Flowerpaw sternly. “Let’s check this out,” she meowed to Wrensong. The two she-cats headed towards the sounds, leaving the young warriors and Flowerpaw behind.

“Do you think there’s a whole pack of coyotes out there?” Flowerpaw asked nervously.

“I don’t know,” meowed Sumactail, her yellow eyes trained on the spot where the older warriors had disappeared. “All I know is, it never ends well when a pack of coyotes and a patrol of warriors meet. It’s pretty easy for a patrol to fight off one or two, but more than that… It can get ugly.”

Rabbitnose shook his head. “If MossClan loses strong warriors this close to leaf-bare, they’re in trouble.”

They waited in tense silence for a few moments, and then Deerleap crashed through the undergrowth. “Come on,” she hissed. “We have to help.”

_ Help MossClan?  _ Flowerpaw sped after her mentor, confusion clouding her mind. She knew that the other Clan and hers were allied, but she still didn’t feel right entering their territory. They crossed the border, and a pang of  _ wrongness _ echoed through her body. 

Then they were in the throng of battle. Blood was everywhere. Flowerpaw looked a few cat-lengths ahead of her, staring blankly at an apprentice, not much younger than her, with his throat ripped out and his eyes staring blankly ahead. His dark blood still trickled out of the wound, and Flowerpaw couldn’t bring herself to tear her eyes away.

“Get out of the way!” Sumactail hissed and shoved her aside as a young coyote lunged at her, raking her claws down the creature’s face. It shrieked, jaws slavering as it snapped at the she-cat. 

Flowerpaw was suddenly thrown to the ground, feeling a sharp bite of pain in her shoulder. She yowled a cry of pain and rolled away, leaping to her feet again. She puffed her fur out threateningly and threw herself at the coyote, landing on its back and sinking her teeth into the tender skin on the side of its neck. 

As she hung on for dear life, a brown tabby MossClan tom dove towards them, taking the opportunity while Flowerpaw distracted the coyote to go for its throat. It was over in moments, Flowerpaw leaping off as the animal collapsed beneath her, its lifeblood pulsing out.

“Thank you,” she gasped.

The tom didn’t respond, just launched himself back into the din. 

She looked around, trying to figure out what she should do next. Sumactail and Deerleap were both fighting the coyote that had originally tried to attack Flowerpaw, working together to gain an advantage. Rabbitnose, Wrensong and the tom that had just saved her were battling a larger one that had blood dripping from its jaws. Two cats that she didn’t know were being backed into a hollow tree by yet another vicious creature. Flowerpaw snarled and dove to help. “Over here, mouse-brain!”

The coyote flashed her a yellow, wild-eyed glare, taking its attention off of the other two cats for a moment. One of them, the larger one, slunk out of the tree and circled to stand directly in the coyote’s blind spot. “No, over here!” The cat yowled.

The coyote looked towards the noise, and Flowerpaw took the opportunity to sink her claws and teeth into its belly, holding on with her front claws and using her powerful back legs to rake back and forth as quickly as possible. 

It screamed, rolling onto its back and scrabbling desperately with its paws to try to get her off, but she just kept trying to bite and scratch as deeply as possible. 

The smaller cat sped out of the hollow tree, eyes wide with fear and anger. “You killed my sister!” He screeched, biting down on the coyote’s throat. Flowerpaw felt the animal shake with the spasms of death underneath her, but she didn’t let go until it had stopped moving. She finally released it, looking up to see where she could go next, but realized that the battle was over. 

Deerleap was spitting out fur as she watched the coyote that she had been fighting sprint off into the forest, retreating. 

Flowerpaw stumbled away from the dead coyote, making her way to her mentor. She distantly recognized that her shoulder hurt, and remembered the wound she had received earlier. 

“Flowerpaw, are you alright?” Deerleap came over to her, limping slightly.Flowerpaw saw blood oozing from her shoulder. “That looks nasty,” she meowed, gesturing to Flowerpaw’s shoulder.

“It’s not bad, compared to yours,” she meowed.

The tom who had saved Flowerpaw padded up to them. “You fought well, apprentice. I greatly appreciate your help.” He looked sadly towards the dead apprentice. “If only you had come in time to save brave Greenpaw.”

Deerleap bowed her head. “I am deeply sorry, Quailfeather. The loss of an apprentice is devastating to every Clan.”

_ Quailfeather _ …  _ The MossClan deputy!  _ Flowerpaw widened her eyes in surprise. No wonder the other cats had rushed to MossClan’s aid so quickly. While their leader, Foxstar, was distrustful of RainClan, Quailfeather tempered his paranoia. He was one of the strongest ties that kept RainClan and MossClan allied. 

“It was just a training session,” he meowed, eyes filled with grief. “Nothing was supposed to happen. They came out of nowhere, and had Greenpaw before I could do anything.” He walked stiffly towards his apprentice, picking the broken body up gently by the scruff.

The other two cats walked across the dirt, the older one dipping her head at Wrensong, who had appeared at Deerleap’s side. “I am Mistflower,” she meowed. “Thank you for coming to our aid. I don’t think we could have beaten them without your help.”

The apprentice at her side was hunched over with grief. “I am Turtlepaw,” he meowed shakily.

Mistflower licked his ear. “We should get back to camp. I think we all need to see the medicine cat.” She flicked her tail at the RainClan cats and leapt into the bushes, Quailfeather and Turtlepaw following her. 

Wrensong turned without a word and trudged back to RainClan territory, the others following her. Sumactail limped along next to Flowerpaw, sporting a leg wound and a nasty gash above her eye. Rabbitnose moved ahead of them to walk next to Deerleap, supporting her. Her shoulder was mangled, and she leaned against the tom to walk more steadily.

Before she knew it, they had arrived back at the camp. Sumactail nudged her towards Vinepelt’s den, her eyes sympathetic. “Go see Vinepelt, Flowerpaw. We’ll be there soon, but you’ve never seen battle before.”

Flowerpaw dipped her head and limped to the medicine cat’s den. “Vinepelt,” she meowed quietly. “My shoulder’s hurt.”

He turned from where he stood organizing herbs and looked at her, surprised. “What happened?”

“We had a run in with those coyotes,” Flowerpaw sighed, flopping into a nest tucked into the corner of the den. “One bit my shoulder.”

Vinepelt padded over to her, sniffing at her shoulder. “That’s deep,” he meowed. “I want to prevent infection as well as stop the bleeding.” He turned to his stores and dug out an herb, chewing it up into a foul smelling poultice. He smeared it on the wound, causing her to wince. “Sorry,” he apologized. He then applied cobwebs to it, making sure to firmly press them on. 

“Thanks,” she murmured. “Can I stay here for a bit?” She felt her mind slipping away into the blackness of exhaustion. She didn’t hear his response, as she was already sound asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

“What’s happening?” Pebblekit looked up at his mother.

Cloverstem shushed her kit. “Go outside and play. Take Hazelkit and Rosekit with you.”

Thistlekit looked at his littermates and shrugged, leading them outside.

“Come on,” mewed Fawnkit to Hazelkit and Rosekit. The younger kittens followed, bouncing around Fawnkit. The camp was bustling with cats, sharing tongues and eating prey. Fawnkit saw Vinepelt hurrying to the nursery, jaws laden with herbs. 

The swarm of kits made their way over to where some of the apprentices gathered, near their den. 

“Hi, Mintpaw,” meowed Thistlekit. He bounced over to the white tom. “Cloverstem said that we had to leave the nursery.”

Mintpaw glanced at the den. “Is Willowleaf kitting?”

Pebblekit shrugged, scrunching up his face in disgust. “Ew, I hope not. She better not mess up our nest. I just rearranged the moss this morning.”

Mintpaw’s sister Larkpaw rolled her eyes, gently cuffing the kit. “The nursery doesn’t belong to you, you know,” she purred. 

Pebblekit stretched. “It will once I’m leader!”

“With the amount of cats convinced they’re going to be leader around here, I’m getting ready for a war,” grumbled Flowerpaw from where she crouched behind the other apprentices.

“Maybe  _ I’ll _ be leader,” Fawnkit meowed. She imagined communing with StarClan and receiving her nine lives, paws tingling with excitement.

A loud scoff came from behind her. “You, runt? You can’t even walk straight, and you think you can lead RainClan?”

She twisted around. Thornpaw stood behind her, eyes sparkling with malice. She shuffled backwards unsteadily, ears flat to her head.

Flowerpaw hefted herself to her feet and padded to stand between the tom and Fawnkit. “You’ve got nothing better to do than pick on a kit, Thornpaw? The leader’s son, destined for greatness, and you can’t even find someone your own size to taunt.” She shook her head in mock disappointment. 

Thornpaw hissed at her, his hackles raising.

Fawnkit shuffled backwards, afraid. She’d barely even talked to Thornpaw before. Why was he being so mean to her?

Larkpaw brushed past Fawnkit, walking past her sister. “Hey, Thornpaw. I needed to talk to you about training. Let’s go share some fresh-kill.”

Thornpaw seemed to relax, dipping his head and walking closely next to Larkpaw as they moved to find some prey.

Flowerpaw was still bristling in front of her. “I can’t believe that she did that,” she muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Fawnkit squeaked. “I didn’t mean to make him mad.”

The calico she-cat turned to her, shaking her head. “You didn’t do anything. Thornpaw is about as likeable as pond scum. I just don’t know why Larkpaw is so friendly with him.” She scowled. “Larkpaw’s all about the warrior code, but won’t even stand up for what’s right.”

The other kits scrambled forward. “I thought that you were going to fight!” Rosekit’s amber eyes were wide.

“You should have!” Thistlekit dropped into a crouch. He launched himself at Pebblekit, and they rolled over in the grass, scuffling. The younger kits leapt after them, throwing themselves into the fray.

Fawnkit sat down, sighing. “Flowerpaw, do you think I’ll be able to become a warrior?”

Flowerpaw gave her an appraising look. “Honestly, Fawnkit, I don’t know. If you do, it’ll be hard.”

“I know.” Fawnkit closed her eyes, feeling the warm grass under her paws. “I really, really want it, though.”

They both started as a long, keening yowl came from the nursery behind them. Flowerpaw narrowed her yellow eyes. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Do you think Willowleaf is alright?” Asked Fawnkit.

Hazelkit appeared at her side. “If she dies, will her kits die too?”

“Don’t say things like that,” meowed Flowerpaw. “I’m sure that she’ll be fine.” She looked to Fawnkit. “If I were you, I’d go try to distract yourself. This will probably take a while.”

Fawnkit dipped her head and rose to her feet. “Come on, guys, let’s go see the elders. I’m sure they’ll have some good stories.” She led them to the elders’ den, lost in thought about her future.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Sundapple stretched, trying to clear her sleep-fogged mind. Alderheart had excitedly woken her to tell her that they had their first official assignment as warriors: to pay a visit to MossClan. There had been a vicious battle with coyotes a few sunsets before, and their leader wanted to make sure the other Clan was alright. They had been allied for many moons, since before Sundapple was kitted, and often helped one another.

Alderheart brushed against her, excitement glittering in his green eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Of course,” she purred. 

Sparrowstar came padding up to them, looking unhappy. “Come on. Let’s go.”

They made their way through RainClan territory, Sparrowstar not saying anything else to the young warriors. Sundapple fluffed out her coat against the cold air. It was late in leaf-fall, and the first snows of leaf-bare would arrive soon. The ground felt cold and hard under her paws, and she knew that hunting was about to become significantly harder.

They walked for a long time, crossing the border into MossClan and making their way towards their camp, Sparrowstar confidently leading the way. 

As they approached the camp entrance, a light brown tabby tom who was standing guard flicked his surprisingly short tail in a signal to halt. “Sparrowstar. Why are you here?”

“Acorntail,” meowed Sparrowstar in greeting. “I wished to ensure that your Clan had recovered from the battle.”

Acorntail relaxed his shoulders. “Of course. Follow me. I expect that Foxstar and Quailfeather will want to see you.”

Cats looked curiously at them as they made their way across the clearing, passing under a fallen tree into the leader’s den. 

Foxstar sat in the center of the den as they entered, eyes narrowed. “Sparrowstar. I expected to see you.” The elderly tom tilted his head slightly. “Checking out our weaknesses, I’m sure.” 

Sundapple looked him up and down.  _ For a Clan leader, he does look weak _ , she thought. Foxstar had a dull ginger tabby coat, his ribs visible. His paws seemed to shake just from the effort of holding himself up.

The dark brown leader dipped her head. “We mean you no harm, Foxstar. We wanted to offer our help for any recovery you still need from the battle, and to see how you were doing.”

A brown tabby tom came into the den behind them. Sundapple assumed he must be Quailfeather, the MossClan deputy. “I came as soon as I heard. I hope you’re being hospitable, Foxstar. You know that without RainClan I might not have survived the battle.” He moved to sit next to his leader. “Thank you, Sparrowstar. The loss of Greenpaw was difficult, but the rest of us are recovering well from our wounds. I don’t believe that we need any more assistance at this time.”

Foxstar hissed. “Quailfeather, stop telling our enemies our secrets!” He stumbled to his feet, looking panicked. “SmokeClan is going to attack us!”

_SmokeClan? What’s that?_ Sundapple fidgeted uncomfortably. Was there another Clan that she had never heard about?

“Foxstar, SmokeClan is gone.” Quailfeather laid his tail on Foxstar’s shoulder. “You need to relax. If you don’t, I’m going to have to go get Whiterose again.” He shot an apologetic glance at Sparrowstar. “I’m sorry, he gets like this sometimes. You should probably go. We’ll be alright.”

Sparrowstar turned. “We’re going back to camp,” she meowed quietly to Alderheart and Sundapple, and led the way home.

\-----------------

Sundapple sat next to her mother, yawning. “Foxstar is certainly something.” After they had returned home, Alderheart had left to hunt with his friend Robinwing, leaving her to relax and eat.

Daisypetal purred a laugh. “That he is. I suppose that you haven’t heard too much about him before today.” She looked thoughtfully into the distance. “He used to be a good leader. When I was young, he was the strongest cat in the forest. But age and paranoia have gotten the best of him, and at this point Quailfeather practically runs the Clan. He must be on his last few lives, if not his final one.”

“Mother…” Sundapple hoped that this wouldn’t be a stupid question. “Who are SmokeClan?”

The ginger and white she-cat’s eyes widened. “Who told you about SmokeClan?”

“It’s just something that Foxstar said. He got upset and yowled something about SmokeClan attacking them, and then Quailfeather told him that SmokeClan was gone and he didn’t have to worry about them.”

“The time when SmokeClan existed is a time that most of us would like to forget.” Daisypetal sighed. “Long ago, Sundapple, there were four Clans. RainClan, MossClan, FlameClan, and SmokeClan. RainClan and MossClan have long been allied, for many generations, but FlameClan and SmokeClan were once allied as well.

“The cats of FlameClan were brave and strong, formidable opponents in battle. However, one new-leaf there was a violent flash flood that decimated their Clan. Many of their strongest warriors were drowned trying to save the old and weak, and they were left helpless. Instead of trying to help their allies rebuild their Clan, SmokeClan took advantage of the opportunity and invaded.

“FlameClan was slaughtered. My own mother saw the remains of the camp after the attack, when RainClan sent a raiding party to try to help, but it was too late. Cats lay dead all over the hollow, from the youngest kits with their eyes still closed to the frailest elders.” Daisypetal shuddered.

Sundapple was shocked.  _ How could one Clan do this to another? _ It was against the warrior code to murder cats of another Clan in cold blood! “What happened?”

“SmokeClan took FlameClan’s territory as their own. They hunted on it for moons, terrorizing the other Clans with their vicious ways. Their leader, Reedstar, wrought havoc on the forest. Eventually, MossClan and RainClan were able to work together and drive SmokeClan out. Reedstar was killed in the process, and the other cats became rogues. Most older cats here knew cats murdered by SmokeClan. There’s a reason it’s not talked about.”

Sundapple sat in silence for a few moments, at a loss for words. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this.”

Daisypetal shrugged. “What’s done is done, my daughter. Things this painful are better forgotten.” She flicked her tail towards the nursery, obviously impatient to change the subject. “Did you hear about Willowleaf?”

“No,” meowed Sundapple. “What happened?”

“She had a hard kitting,” her mother meowed. “Vinepelt wasn’t sure that she was going to make it, but she pulled through. One of her kits didn’t, though.” She shook her head sadly.

“How many are alive?” Sundapple asked.

“Three. Still plenty to bring her joy.” She looked at her daughter. “We’re going to have to work very hard to make it through leaf-bare. After the last greencough epidemic, we don’t have as many warriors as we should, and our nursery will be overflowing with kits.”

“I know. I’ve been trying to hunt as often as possible. When the first freeze comes we’ll really need to focus, because prey we catch can be stored longer.”

Daisypetal shifted uncomfortably and gestured to the jagged scar on her chest. “My scar aches when the weather is about to change. Call me old if you want, but I know that leaf-bare will be here soon.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short! The next chapter will be Fawnkit's POV.

**Chapter Seven**

Flowerpaw looked at Willowleaf’s new kits, awestruck. “They’re so… small!”

Her mother, Lilytail, laughed behind her. “You were that small once, Flowerpaw. I would know.” She padded to stand next to her daughter. “Vinepelt told me that you were coming to visit the new kits, and I decided to come with you.” 

Lilytail was a blue-gray she-cat who had moved to the elders’ den soon after her last litter of kits had become apprentices. She wasn’t especially old, but her joints ached so much that it had become difficult for her to perform her warrior duties.

“What are their names?” Flowerpaw gazed at the tiny forms nestled into their mother’s side.

“The light brown tabby is Pinekit.” Willowleaf nudged her son proudly. “The mostly white tom is Oakkit, and the other light brown tom is Newtkit.” Her eyes clouded over with grief. “Little Blizzardkit was born dead.”

“I’m very sorry,” meowed Lilytail. “At least you still have three healthy sons. Try to focus on that.”

Willowleaf blinked in agreement. “I am.” She glanced at Swanflight, who dozed in a nest near her. “I just hope that Swanflight’s kitting goes more smoothly than mine. She’s so young… I don’t know if she can handle something that traumatic.”

“I’m sure it’ll be alright,” meowed Flowerpaw confidently. “Thank you for letting me see them, Willowleaf. They’re beautiful.”

The white she-cat nodded. “Of course, Flowerpaw.” She leaned down to groom the kits’ squirming bodies.

Lilytail beckoned to her daughter and they walked to a stump near the edge of the RainClan camp. “I heard about what happened with Finchstripe,” she meowed.

“What part of it?” Asked Flowerpaw.

Lilytail looked confused. “That he’s the father of both Willowleaf and Swanflight’s kits, and that you found out. What else?”

Flowerpaw groaned. She didn’t really want to have to explain this to her mother. “Well… Finchstripe isn’t happy with me, to put it lightly.”

“What do you mean?” Lilytail got to her feet, fur bristling slightly. “If he’s harassing my kit, I’ll put him in his place.”

Flowerpaw shook her head. “Mother, please no. That isn’t what I want. This is something that I need to deal with myself. I’m an apprentice now, and if I’m ever going to be a warrior, I need to fight my own battles.”

Lilytail dipped her head leaning forward to give Flowerpaw a gentle lick between the ears. “I understand. But if you ever need me, I’m here.”

“Thank you.” Flowerpaw stood and looked to her mother. “I want to talk with Deerleap. I need to be better prepared for my next mock battle, and I’d like some extra training.”

“Good luck,” meowed Lilytail, a proud gleam in her eyes. “I know you don’t always feel content. But I see how hard you work, and I know you’ll succeed.”

Flowerpaw felt a glow of warmth in her chest as she headed for the warriors’ den. _At least Lilytail is proud of me,_ she thought.

“Deerleap?” She called into the den, letting her eyes adjust to the dark in order to see her mentor. 

The seal point she-cat’s blue eyes met hers from where she lay in a nest. “Yes, Flowerpaw?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if we could get in some extra training. My shoulder’s nearly fully healed, and I’d like to work on my combat skills.”

“Alright.” Deerleap hefted herself to her feet and they headed for the camp entrance. “Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you just because you’re still healing.” Her eyes glittered with amusement.

Flowerpaw purred. “Of course not.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Fawnkit dropped into a hunting crouch, widening her stance to make up for the unsteadiness of her legs. She took one slow step after another, focusing on the leaf settled on the frosty ground in front of her. She let herself get within a tail length of the leaf, and then shot forward, staying low to the ground to be as balanced as possible. She landed directly on top of it, wobbling a little but managing to hold herself up. She looked up proudly. “See, Robinwing? I’m getting a lot better!”

The long-haired gray and white tom nodded encouragingly. “You certainly are! If I were you, I’d just try to make your steps a little bit softer. You don’t want to scare the prey off before you even get to it.”

Fawnkit twitched her whiskers and lowered herself back to the ground. She still focused on spreading her weight evenly, but this time changed her gait so it was smoother and lighter. “Like this?” She asked.

“Yes!” Robinwing padded around her, inspecting her form. “You’re looking much better. Sparrowstar has no reason not to let you become a warrior apprentice.” 

She sprung up, her legs wobbling and forcing her to sit down. “Great! I’ve been working really hard. Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” purred Robinwing. “I’m so proud of you. I never thought I’d have a kit as determined as you.”

Cloverstem padded up behind him and brushed pelts with her mate. “What are you two up to?” She bumped her head affectionately against Robinwing’s jaw.

“Robinwing is helping me with my hunting crouch!” Fawnkit demonstrated it to her mother.

“Very good! I’m glad to see that you’ve been working on it.” Cloverstem gestured to where Thistlekit and Pebblekit sat by the nursery, eating a mouse. “Now, go eat with your brothers.”

Fawnkit obeyed her mother, pushing to her feet and making her way slowly to where her brothers crouched. She dipped her head in greeting and moved to take a bite of the mouse. Almost immediately, she bashed heads with Pebblekit, as she was wobbling too much and couldn’t keep her head still. “I’m sorry!” She gasped.

Pebblekit rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “It’s alright, Fawnkit. I know you can’t help it. Anyways, it didn’t hurt too bad.”

She glanced away, embarrassed, and then leaned down again and managed to get a mouthful without too much trouble. It was half-frozen, but anything tasted good in the prey-scarce season of leaf-bare. They ate in contented silence, Fawnkit trying extra hard to avoid hitting her brothers.

They finished their meal and sat up, Thistlekit coming to Fawnkit’s side to groom his sister. “I saw your hunting crouch,” he meowed in between licks. “It’s looking really good!”

“Thanks!” Fawnkit purred. She sat with her eyes closed, her brother rhythmically licking her ears. In the last few moons, she had gotten much closer with her littermates. When they had been very young, they had teased her and left her out of games, but as they grew closer to apprenticehood, they had become fiercely protective of her. She was grateful to have friends as devoted as her brothers. She knew that if any cats bothered her, they would always be there to have her back.

Pebblekit stood, looking furtively to where their mother and father stood. “Guys, if we go now, I bet that they won’t even notice.”

“Go where?” Fawnkit tilted her head in confusion. She had been with Robinwing all morning, and figured that she had missed the creation of some plan.

Thistlekit’s amber eyes sparkled. “Apparently there’s a way into the forest by going out the back of the apprentices’ den. Flowerpaw told us about it.”

Fawnkit shook her head. “I don’t really think that’s a good idea. We’re almost apprentices, and I don’t want to get in trouble. I’m afraid that if I do anything wrong, Sparrowstar won’t let me become an apprentice.”

“Come on, Fawnkit,” pleaded Pebblekit. “Just break the rules  _ once _ . We won’t get in trouble.”

“No,” she meowed. “I can’t, I’m sorry.” She looked between them. “I don’t think that it’s a good idea for you to go either.”

Hazelkit and Rosekit came hopping over from where they had been sitting in the shadow of the nursery. They were only a moon younger than Cloverstem’s litter, and were always eager to be involved.

“Did you say something about the forest?” Hazelkit twitched her golden-brown tail. “We want to come!”

Thistlekit met eyes with Fawnkit. “I think I’m going to stay back. I don’t feel like getting in trouble today.”

Pebblekit huffed. “Fine. We’ll go without you.” He turned tail and walked nonchalantly towards the apprentices’ den, Hazelkit and Rosekit close on his heels.

Fawnkit sighed.  _ He’s always been the most daring of us, _ she thought. “They’re going to get in big trouble if anyone finds out,” she meowed.

“I know,” responded Thistlekit, looking worried. “I just hope they’ll be okay.”

\-----------------------------------------------

Time passed with no sign of their brother’s return. Fawnkit and Thistlekit sat by the fresh-kill pile, trying to soak up a little of the midday sun.

“My kits!” A yowl from the nursery alerted them. “My kits are gone!”

The camp erupted into activity. Sparrowstar burst out of her den, looking alarmed. “Appleflower?” She made her way over to the tortoiseshell she-cat. “What’s happened?”

“I don’t know where they are,” Appleflower meowed frantically. “I was asleep, and when I woke up, they were gone.”

“They’re nearly five moons old,” meowed Sparrowstar reassuringly. “They’re becoming more independent. They most likely are somewhere near.” She spotted Thistlekit and Fawnkit. “You two!”

They slunk over to their leader. Fawnkit felt very guilty for letting Appleflower worry so much.

“Where is your brother?” Sparrowstar glared at them.

Fernkit shuffled her paws. “With Hazelkit and Rosekit,” she whispered. “They snuck out the back of the apprentices’ den to have an adventure.”

Sparrowstar hissed. “You knew this happened and you didn’t tell anyone? Do you have any idea how much danger they’re in?”

Fawnkit flattened her ears to her head. “I’m sorry.”

Sparrowkit turned and sprinted to the fallen tree. “We need patrols now! We have three kits lost in the forest. Robinwing, Alderheart, and Heronfoot, you’re one group. Cricketcall, Mintpaw, Daisypetal and Rabbitnose, you’re the other. There is apparently a gap in the camp wall by the apprentices’ den. Start there and track the kits’ scent. Their lives are in danger, and we need to find them as soon as possible.”

Flowerpaw suddenly jumped to her feet from where she stood. “Sparrowstar!” Her fur was standing slightly on end, and she looked scared. “This is my fault. I told them about the hole, but I didn’t think that they’d actually leave. I think that I know where they are.”

Sparrowstar flicked her ears in acknowledgement. “We’ll deal with your punishment later, Flowerpaw. Go with Deerleap and Sundapple.”

Fawnkit watched as the three she-cats followed the other patrols to the den.  _ Please find Pebblekit safe and sound, _ she prayed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Sundapple tasted the air, trotting hurriedly after Flowerpaw. “Where are we going?”

The younger she-cat twitched her tail. “I told them about the dead oak in the middle of our territory. They’re probably there, trying to hunt mice.” She took a deep breath. “I feel so stupid. I shouldn’t have mentioned it to them.”

“It’s not your fault,” Deerleap responded. “You couldn’t have known that they’d act on it. Regardless of what Sparrowstar decides, I don’t blame you.”

“Thanks.” Flowerpaw was silent for the rest of the journey, the bristling fur on her spine the only signal of her anxiety.

When they reached the dead oak, an eerie silence greeted them. Sundapple glanced around, trying to figure out what was wrong. She sniffed, eyes widening when she realized.  _ Coyote. _

A weak caterwaul split the still air. Deerleap rushed over to a hole in the ground, too small for a coyote to fit into but just big enough for a cat. “Kits?” She meowed into the hole. “Are you in there?”

“Help!” A small, scared voice emanated from the darkness. “Hazelkit is sleeping, and she won’t wake up.”

“Rosekit?” Deerleap used a comforting, motherly tone. “Can you come out, please? Bring your sister, if you can.”

The small calico she-kit came out of the hole backwards, dragging Hazelkit’s still form by the scruff of her neck.

Sundapple rushed over to the kit, horrified. “What happened?” Hazelkit’s eyes were still slightly open, staring sightlessly ahead. Her golden brown pelt was mangled, fur torn out and deep puncture wounds dotting her body. Sundapple nosed at her neck, still holding out a thread of hope that there would be a pulse, but there was nothing. “She’s dead,” she whispered.

“We were hunting,” wailed Rosekit, looking stricken. “Then there was a coyote. It attacked us, and I don’t know where Pebblekit went! It grabbed Hazelkit and was just shaking her around like prey. It dropped her after a while and I pulled her into the hole to keep us safe.” She let out a low keen of sorrow.

Sundapple looked behind her. Flowerpaw stood frozen, a look of horror in her eyes. “This is all my fault,” she whispered.

“Snap out of it, Flowerpaw,” Deerleap ordered. “You can feel guilty later. For now, we need to find Pebblekit.”

Flowerpaw looked stunned, but turned and yowled into the forest. “Pebblekit! Where are you?” A small cry echoed back, and Flowerpaw pinned her ears to her head and thrust herself into the undergrowth. Deerleap sprinted after her, leaving Sundapple with the distraught Rosekit.

“Rosekit, we should head back to camp,” she meowed unsteadily. Rosekit just stared blankly at her, unresponsive. Sundapple nudged her gently. “Come on. We’ll get you back to your mother.” She gently picked up Hazelkit and carried her back to camp, Rosekit stumbling ahead of her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Flowerpaw crashed through a dead bush, wincing as she felt thorns scrape her pelt. She could smell Pebblekit, and knew that he was near, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. She looked around, trying to ascertain where the noises had come from.

“Up here,” mewed a tremulous voice.

Her eyes moved upwards to a large maple tree. Pebblekit sat on a high branch, his eyes wide with terror. “I came up here to escape the coyote,” he meowed, “but now I’m stuck.”

Deerleap appeared behind Flowerpaw. “Thank StarClan,” she murmured. “One dead kit is enough for today.” She looked at Flowerpaw. “I’ll get him. You go back to camp and tell Cloverstem that her kit is safe.”

Flowerpaw dipped her head and trotted away, her tail dragging along the ground. _ I can’t believe I caused this, _ she thought. She didn’t know how she’d ever look Appleflower in the eyes again.

When she reached the camp, she entered slowly, unsure how she would be received. She saw Finchstripe give her a hateful glance from across the clearing, and her skin crawled. She made her way to where Cloverstem sat with Fawnkit and Thistlekit by the nursery, avoiding the center of camp, where Appleflower crouched, grieving her dead kit. “Cloverstem?” She sat down next to the charcoal gray she-cat. “Pebblekit is fine, just scared. Deerleap is bringing him back to camp.”

Cloverstem breathed out a deep sigh. “I knew he was alright. I would know if something happened to him.” Betraying the worry behind her brave words, she pulled her other kits closer to her with her tail.

“How did Hazelkit die?” Fawnkit looked up at Flowerpaw with large green eyes.

Flowerpaw licked the kit’s head. “A lone coyote attacked them. Don’t worry, it can’t get into the camp.”

“I’m not scared,” declared Fawnkit. “I’ll be an apprentice soon, and then I’ll kill it for revenge!”

Thistlekit huffed. “Fawnkit, you can’t kill a coyote.” Flowerpaw thought that he looked a lot more defeated than his sister. The light gray tabby tom was hunched over slightly, and kept shooting pained glances towards Hazelkit’s broken body.

The smaller kit lashed her tail. “I’ll show you.”

Flowerpaw turned and left them to their bickering, padding towards the apprentices’ den. 

“Flowerpaw!” The voice was unmistakably Sparrowstar’s. “We need to talk.”

She closed her eyes for a heartbeat, steeling herself for the inevitable berating that was sure to come. _ I deserve it, _ she thought gloomily. She walked to Sparrowstar, who beckoned for Flowerpaw to follow her into her den.

The dark brown she-cat sat in her nest, her emotions unreadable. “I know that this wasn’t what you meant to happen. But it did, and you must be held accountable.” 

Flowerpaw felt her heart sink in her chest.  _ What’s going to happen? _

“Appleflower has told me that she does not want you judged too harshly. However, other members of the Clan have made different opinions clear.”

“Who?” Flowerpaw posed the question even though she already knew who at least one of them was.  _ Finchstripe _ .

“That’s irrelevant,” meowed her leader. “The point is, your actions have consequences. In this case, deadly ones. Soon, your brothers will become warriors. You will not. Instead, you will be apprenticed to the medicine cat, to learn the ways of healing instead of destruction.”

“What?” Flowerpaw’s jaw opened and closed in disbelief. “No. That’s ridiculous. I made one mistake that I thought would be harmless, and you decide that I’ll never become a warrior?”

Sparrowstar narrowed her icy eyes. “You dare question your leader? Other concerns have been voiced to me about you, unrelated to this. I have made this decision after careful consideration. You either do this, or leave the Clan.”

Flowerpaw dug her claws into the dirt in anger. “Fine,” she spat. She didn’t want to say anything that would get her into even more trouble, so she left, Sparrowstar’s words ringing in her ears.

Vinepelt was mixing a poultice of herbs when she entered his clearing, readying them for Rosekit, who sat on the grass near him.

“Apparently I’m your apprentice now,” Flowerpaw grumbled, feeling an odd numbness in her paws.

“I heard,” replied the black tom mildly. “Here, put this on Rosekit’s side.”

She picked it up without really thinking about it and pressed it to the kit’s ribs, trying to cause her as little pain as possible. “It’s not even that being a warrior was all that important to me,” Flowerpaw meowed, voicing her thoughts out loud. “I just can’t believe she took an accident I made and decided to completely change the course of my life.”

“There were other factors,” Vinepelt said, his back to her.

“So tell me what they were!” Flowerpaw exclaimed, making Rosekit flinch away from her. “I’m sorry,” she meowed to the kit, “I shouldn’t have yowled.”

Vinepelt came over, giving her a scathing glance as he gave Rosekit a poppy seed. “We’re going to have to work on your bedside manner,” he joked. “I’ll tell you what they were in my own time,” he said more seriously. “They’re too complex for you to understand right now.”

_ I was supposed to be a warrior, _ Flowerpaw thought.  _ Now I’m being treated like a kit.  _ “I suppose you’d better start teaching me about herbs,” she meowed resignedly. 

“Don’t sound _ too  _ excited,” responded Vinepelt, heading for his den.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

“It’s happening, it’s happening!” 

The excited shrieks woke Fawnkit, and she groggily raised her head. “What’s happening?” She asked, sleep making her feel foggy.

Cloverstem purred happily. “You’re becoming apprentices today,” she told Fawnkit, looking proud. She flicked her tail towards Pebblekit and Thistlekit, who were bouncing around the den. “The others are getting quite worked up. Now come here, I need to groom you.”

Her brothers looked as though they had already been cleaned, their gray fur looking tidy and neat. They bounded outside, chattering happily to one another.

Near Fawnkit, Willowleaf looked relieved. _ I hope they didn’t wake her kits _ , Fawnkit thought worriedly.  _ They’re so young, they need their sleep.  _ She obediently stumbled over to her mother, sitting down and letting her roughly lick her gray and white pelt. When she had finished, Cloverstem nudged her towards the entrance. 

“Go outside with your brothers,” she meowed. “I’ll be out soon.”

Fawnkit walked purposefully outside, joining her brothers where they sat at the center of the clearing.

“When do you think the ceremony will happen?” Pebblekit kneaded his claws into the ground.

“Soon, probably.” Thistlekit wrapped his tail around his paws, looking at the fallen tree hopefully. “I wonder who our mentors will be?”

Fawnkit felt a pang of guilt when she thought of Vinepelt, who had originally been set to be her mentor. _ If I had just agreed to be a medicine cat, maybe Flowerpaw wouldn’t be stuck there, _ she thought. She hoped fervently that the calico she-cat wasn’t angry with her. She hadn’t had much of a chance to speak with her since the incident with the coyote, and she didn’t know if Flowerpaw blamed her for her new place in the Clan.

As her guilty thoughts threatened to overwhelm her, Sparrowstar emerged from the camp entrance at the head of a hunting patrol. “Kits,” she greeted them. “I see that you are ready to become apprentices.”

“Yes!” Thistlekit stood, tail fluffed out with excitement. “We want to learn everything that we can!”

Fawnkit, not one to be outdone, stood next to him. “I’m going to train as hard as possible, and then I’m going to get the coyote that killed Hazelkit!”

Sparrowstar’s eyes glittered, but Fawnkit wasn’t sure what the emotion behind them was. 

Pebblekit sat quietly behind them, and Fawnkit turned to see why he wasn’t saying anything. He looked hurt. “I’m sorry, Pebblekit, did I upset you?”

“No!” He whipped his head up, his eyes burning with anger. “I’m going to help you kill that coyote, if it’s the last thing I do.”

Sparrowstar dipped her head solemnly. “I’m glad to know that our future warriors are so dedicated to their Clan. Now…” She leapt onto the fallen tree. “RainClan, gather beneath the fallen tree for the naming of our newest apprentices!”

Cats trickled out of the dens, Robinwing and Cloverstem coming to sit proudly by their kits. Fawnkit knew that she and her brothers were her parents’ first litter, and that they must be feeling extra proud of them.

“Pebblekit,” Sparrowstar meowed loudly, “come stand beside me on the fallen tree.” 

Pebblekit moved slowly, almost disbelievingly to stand facing his leader. Fawnkit could see his paws trembling slightly.

“Pebblekit, you have faced great troubles in your young life, and have made it through them with your bravery and resolve. Do you promise to obey RainClan and your mentor, and work hard to become the best warrior you can be?”

“Yes,” Pebblekit meowed, clearly and powerfully. Fawnkit felt pride in her brother.

“Then from now on, you will be known as Pebblepaw. Your mentor will be Sumactail. May she pass on to you her quick thinking and hunting prowess.”

The fluffy reddish she-cat made her way up to the tree to touch noses with her new apprentice, looking excited. They made their way down from the tree together, pelts nearly brushing as they murmured quietly.

“Thistlekit,” Sparrowstar announced, and the gray tabby kit scrambled to get to the fallen tree as quickly as possible. She dipped her head to him. “You are determined and smart, and have the potential to do great things for this Clan. Do you promise to obey RainClan and your mentor, and work hard to become the best warrior you can be?”

“Of course,” Thistlekit meowed confidently.

“Then from now on, you will be known as Thistlepaw. Your mentor will be Finchstripe. May he pass on to you his intelligence and fighting skills.”

Looking smug rather than excited, Finchstripe strode up to touch noses with Thistlepaw.

_ I don’t like him _ , thought Fawnkit.  _ I don’t think he’s a good cat. _

“Fawnkit.” As the other two cats made their way down from the tree, Fawnkit walked as carefully as she could to the base, timing her jump carefully and widening her stance as she made her way up it. 

“Fawnkit, you have faced unique challenges that no other cats can claim to understand. However, you are hard-working and trustworthy, and I am honored to name you an apprentice of RainClan. Do you promise to obey RainClan and your mentor, and work hard to become the best warrior you can be?”

“Yes,” Fawnkit squeaked, cursing herself for letting her worry show in her voice.

“Then from now on, you will be known as Fawnpaw. Your mentor will be Sundapple. She may be a young warrior, but she has proven herself to be loyal and courageous, and I hope that she will pass this on to you.”

The golden tabby she-cat made her way out of the crowd, leaping effortlessly onto the tree to brush noses with Fawnpaw. They made their way down together, Sundapple steadying her when she almost lost her balance.

“When will we leave camp?” Fawnkit looked at her mentor, her head feeling light.  _ I can’t believe I’m actually a warrior apprentice, _ she thought.  _ I didn’t know if this day would ever come. _

Sundapple purred with amusement. “We can go now, if you’d like. I’ll ask Sumactail to come with us. We can work on your hunting crouch.”

Fawnpaw puffed out her fur proudly. “I’ve already been working on it with Robinwing! He says I’m getting good.”

Sundapple dipped her head approvingly. “Good, I’m glad that you’ve already started. Just tell me if something that I’m trying to teach you is too hard for you with your balance issues, and I’ll try to adapt it.”

“Thank you,” meowed Fawnpaw. “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” meowed her mentor. “Now come on. It’s time for the first day of the rest of your life!”


	12. Chapter 12

Sundapple watched approvingly as her apprentice moved towards the vole. Fawnpaw was improving rapidly, even though she still struggled with some basic moves. The gray and white apprentice’s head bobbled slightly as she moved, but her legs barely trembled as she moved. 

Sundapple was very impressed by the way that Fawnpaw had come up with alternate strategies to hunt and fight. She knew that it couldn’t be easy to have trouble with things that came to other cats so easily.

Fawnpaw flicked her tail in concentration and then sprung, landing a little awkwardly but recovering quickly. She dispatched the vole and turned to look at her mentor. “How was that?” She meowed, her words muffled by the prey in her jaws. 

“Great,” answered Sundapple. “It’s looking a lot better, but you still need to work on your balance at the very end.”

“I know.” Fawnpaw shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve got to figure out how to spread my weight out when I land.”

Sundapple looked out into the forest. “Do you want to go patrol the border by the pond? You haven’t been on an official border patrol yet, but I can show that part of our territory to you.”

“Okay!”

Sundapple turned and began to pad through the undergrowth, weaving between trees and bushes and pausing periodically to give Fawnpaw time to catch up. The apprentice wasn’t as quick as she was, but she still made fairly good time. 

They reached the edge of the pond, which was starting to freeze over in the leaf-bare chill. There hadn’t been much snow yet, which Sundapple was thankful for, but the temperatures had been dropping lower and lower. She dreaded the time when the snows came, driving all but the scrawniest prey underground. Most of the birds had flown away long ago, and only a small number remained.

“Here’s the pond,” she announced to her apprentice. “During new-leaf, we sometimes catch frogs or small fish here, but once it’s cold it’s too dangerous to go out on the ice.”

Fawnpaw nodded solemnly. “The elders have told me stories about cats falling through and drowning.”

Sundapple led Fawnpaw along the edge of the pond to the scent markers beside it. Beyond them, the land stretched out into a large field, with more trees in the distance.

“What’s over there?” Fawnpaw stretched her neck out curiously, looking over the border.

“I’m not sure,” meowed Sundapple. “Our territory ends here, and I’ve never been beyond the borders.” She gave the younger she-cat a stern look. “ _Never_ go outside our territory unless explicitly ordered to.”

“I wouldn’t risk getting into trouble like that,” Fawnpaw meowed matter-of-factly.

“Good.” Sundapple suddenly raised her head, carefully tasting the air. She smelled an unfamiliar cat scent coming from across the border. _That’s strange,_ she thought, making a note to tell Heronfoot later that day. _It doesn’t smell like they’ve been on our territory, so it can’t be too much of a problem._ It was probably just a rogue or two passing through.

They continued on, Sundapple leading her apprentice along the rest of that stretch of the border, heading to pick up her vole and then bringing her back to camp. 

“Go bring that to the elders and then eat something,” Sundapple told her. “You’ve earned it.”

Fawnpaw blinked happily and scampered off towards the elders’ den.

Sundapple looked warmly after her apprentice, feeling a warmth in her chest. _My first apprentice_ , she thought. _I hope I teach her well._

Pawsteps rustled next to her and she turned her head to see Sumactail sitting next to her. “How was your training session?”

“It was good.” Sundapple dipped her head. “I’m really proud of how hard Fawnpaw is working. She doesn’t let anything get her down.”

Sumactail purred. “You’re the perfect cat to mentor her. You’re patient and kind, and I’m glad she has someone like you.”

Sundapple ducked her head in embarrassment. “Thank you, Sumactail. How is Pebblepaw coming along?”

“Well,” meowed the fluffy she-cat. “We worked on fighting techniques with Finchstripe and Thistlepaw today. They’re both making quick progress. How is Fawnpaw doing with fighting?”

“She’s better with hunting than fighting. Getting put off balance by another cat is a lot for her to handle, and she has trouble restabilizing herself. But we’re trying to come up with ideas to help her make up for her weaknesses.”

Sumactail yawned, showing sharp teeth. “I’m glad you’re so dedicated to her training.” She stood, taking a long stretch. “I’m on the evening patrol, so I’m going to get some sleep in before we go out.” She flicked her tail in farewell and walked towards the warriors’ den.

Sundapple heard a commotion and looked towards the fallen tree, where Willowleaf’s three young kits tumbled about with Rosekit, who had fully recovered from her injuries. Appleflower sat close by, keeping a watchful eye on her remaining kit. Sundapple didn’t blame her, after all that had happened. 

Finchstripe sat a little further back, in the shadow of a bare willow tree near the corner of camp. He stared fixedly at the kits, and Sundapple could practically see him steaming with anger. The tom had been unhappy ever since the two she-cats that he had fathered kits with had cut him out of their lives, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel bad for him. He had manipulated his apprentice into a relationship, perhaps even during her apprenticeship, and had kept it from his mate.

Sundapple watched as Spruceclaw approached him and sat next to him, giving his ear a swift lick. The brown tabby she-cat muttered something to Finchstripe, lashing her tail in an expression of distaste. She knew that they were littermates, but they had seemed especially close lately. She supposed it was because the rest of the Clan had turned a cold shoulder on the light brown tom.

Sundapple stood and shook out her coat. She needed to talk to Heronfoot before she forgot. She scanned the clearing for the tom, and picked out his ginger coat standing by the camp entrance, having an in-depth conversation with Thornpaw, his apprentice.

“Heronfoot?” She slowly approached the deputy, not wanting to bother him but feeling that this could be important. 

He nodded to Thornpaw to go and turned his attention to Sundapple. “What is it?”

“It might be nothing, but I smelled a strange scent by our border near the pond when I was out with Fawnpaw. It was definitely a cat, but it didn’t smell like any that I’ve encountered.”

Heronfoot dipped his head, amber eyes flashing. “I’ll make sure that the patrols keep an eye out. Thank you for telling me.”

Feeling dismissed, Sundapple made her way towards the warriors’ den, curling up in her nest. _Might as well get some sleep,_ she thought. _StarClan knows I’ll get less of it now that I have an apprentice._


	13. Chapter 13

Flowerpaw scowled as her paws sank into the freezing mud at the edge of the pond. She was trying to gather horsetail for Vinepelt, but it only grew in the marshiest area of their territory. Since it was now leaf-bare, the plants were beginning to shrivel up and die, and she needed to get to them before they were gone.

Gnawing at the base of each plant and grimacing at the bitter taste, she gathered a few stems and then leapt out of the muck. She shook her paws, trying to get off the worst of it, and then headed for camp.

She wasn’t minding being the medicine cat apprentice as much as she’d thought, but there were some parts that she wasn’t thrilled about, like gathering herbs in the mud. She was enjoying memorizing remedies and having more respect from the other cats than she’d had as a warrior apprentice.

Vinepelt had told her that soon it would be time for her to commune with StarClan at the RainStone to be accepted as a medicine cat apprentice. Even though the stone was in their camp, it could only be used at certain times to ensure that StarClan would appear. 

As Flowerpaw passed through the thorn tunnel, she heard a hiss from nearby. “Flowerpaw!”

She turned her head to see Larkpaw standing next to the entrance of the tunnel, obviously standing guard. 

Flowerpaw spat out the stems at her feet. “What?”

Larkpaw flattened her ears nervously. “I heard Finchstripe and Spruceclaw talking earlier while Thistlepaw and I were training. We were hunting, and they sent us off on our own, but I guess I stayed too close because I heard some things that I definitely shouldn’t have.” She gulped. “You’re in danger, Flowerpaw.”

“They can’t do anything to me,” meowed Flowerpaw. “Do you know how much trouble they’d be in if they hurt me? Especially now that I’m the medicine cat’s apprentice.”

Larkpaw narrowed her blue and green eyes. “Do you think I’d be telling you this if it wasn’t serious, mousebrain? They’re going to make it look like an accident!”

Flowerpaw was starting to get nervous. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Larkpaw glanced around as if looking for eavesdroppers. “I only heard a little bit. I just know that you need to watch your back, and try not to go out alone.”

Flowerpaw lashed her tail. “I can’t just not go out! Vinepelt asks me to get herbs and cobwebs all the time. How am I supposed to avoid that?”

Her sister shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, Flowerpaw. I’ll be a warrior soon, and I’ll try to go out with you as much as I can. Just please be careful.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Flowerpaw gave her a brisk lick on the head and picked up her herbs again, going to put them in Vinepelt’s den. 

“Flowerpaw!” Vinepelt exclaimed as soon as she entered the den. “Thank StarClan you’re back. Swanflight’s kitting has started, and assisting will be a good experience for you.”

She gently set the stems under the stone overhang where they stored herbs and turned to her mentor. “What do we need to bring?”

“Fetch some raspberry leaves and pray that we don’t need them,” Vinepelt meowed darkly.

Flowerpaw felt her stomach drop as she picked up the leaves. They could be used to stop bleeding during kitting, and she realized for the first time that the lives of the cats in the Clan were now in her paws. She followed Vinepelt to the nursery, where Swanflight lay with Willowleaf at her side.

“I sent the kits out with Appleflower,” meowed Willowleaf. “They seem to be coming quite fast.”

Swanflight panted as spasm after spasm wracked her body. “I haven’t felt right all day,” she wheezed in between deep breaths. 

“You’re doing fine,” Willowleaf told her reassuringly. “And you have two medicine cats here.”

Swanflight screeched as a particularly painful contraction shot through her.

“Here’s one!” Vinepelt grabbed the newly born kit in his jaws and thrust it at Flowerpaw’s paws. “Lick it clean, Flowerpaw.”

She obediently bent down and began to clear its airway, hoping to hear the telltale cry of a healthy kit sooner rather than later. After licking it vigorously for a few moments, a thin wail rose up from the tiny creature.

Flowerpaw felt a pang of satisfaction, picking it back up and tucking it into the curve of its mother’s belly.

Willowleaf let out a worried meow. “Vinepelt… She’s bleeding quite a bit.”

Vinepelt moved quickly from where he stood at Swanflight’s head to her tail. “Flowerpaw, I need you to give her those raspberry leaves now.” His voice was calm and steady, but his eyes betrayed him. The medicine cat was afraid.

Flowerpaw rushed to cram the raspberry leaves into Swanflight’s open jaws. “Chew,” she hissed urgently.

The white she-cat looked dazed, but she managed to chew and swallow the leaves.

“Now we must wait,” meowed Vinepelt. “I think there’s another kit in there that might be causing this.”

Swanflight seemed like she was weaker, but she still appeared to be trying.

They waited for what felt like moons, until Vinepelt finally yowled out, “Here it comes!” He caught the second kit as it was born, but recoiled from it almost immediately, dropping it on the mossy floor.

“What’s wrong?” Willowleaf looked nervous.

Vinepelt shook his head. “It’s dead. I think it’s been dead for a while.”

Swanflight let out a weak moan. “Oh, StarClan, why?”

Willowleaf covered the younger she-cat’s face with licks. “It’ll be alright, Swanflight. You still have one beautiful kit.”

Flowerpaw moved around them to go to Vinepelt. “Is she going to be alright?” She kept her voice to a low murmur.

“I don’t know.” Vinepelt looked troubled. “She’s still bleeding, although it’s slowed some. If she’s hurt inside, there’s not much I can do. I’ll give her something for infection, and we’ll have to ask StarClan to get her through this.”

Flowerpaw backed away. “I’ll go get the herbs.” She turned and stalked out of the den.  _ Finchstripe did this. If Swanflight dies, it’s all his fault. _ So much in her life would be different if that mousebrained tomcat was just a little bit less awful.


	14. Chapter 14

Fawnpaw leapt down from the bottom branch of the tree, paws scrabbling for a hold in the soft snow. She lost her balance and fell into a drift, her rump and tail the only things left in open air. “Fox dung!”

Pebblepaw wheezed with laughter behind her. 

“Get me out of here!” Her voice was muffled by the snow as she wiggled to free herself.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Her brother grasped her firmly by the tail and yanked her out.

She hissed in pain and shook out her coat. “I regret trying to get that bird.”

“It’s alright, Fawnpaw. I was surprised you went for something that far up the tree.” He snorted again. “That was  _ hilarious _ , though.”

She harrumphed angrily under her breath. “The Clan needs prey. Sundapple told me that with this snow, prey is going to vanish. We need to stock up as much as we can. If I see anything, I’m going for it.”

Pebblepaw dipped his head. “That makes sense. Should we get back to hunting prey on the ground?”

Fawnpaw rolled her eyes and trudged along. It was much harder for her to move through the heavy snowfall than it was when the ground was bare. She had to lift her feet up much higher, which upset her center of balance even more than usual. “Can you smell anything?”

“No,” meowed Pebblepaw. All I can smell is this stupid snow.”

Fawnpaw made her way to an area of heavy tree cover where there was less snow. She listened to the muffled silence of the white forest, taking a careful sniff of the air.  _ Rabbit. _ She flicked her tail to tell her brother to stay silent. She’d never caught a rabbit before, and now was her time to prove herself. After that debacle with the bird, she needed to bring something back for her Clan.

She spotted the animal several cat-lengths ahead of her, nibbling on something in between the roots of a tree. Its pale coat blended into the snow around it, and Fawnpaw thanked StarClan that her gray and white pelt blended in better than most cats.

She took a deep breath, hoping that her limbs didn’t betray her. Each pawstep that she took was purposeful and light, and her tail stuck out straight behind her to hold her on course. 

She took her final leap when she was a tail-length away, hidden from the rabbit’s line of sight by the tree roots. She landed perfectly, grabbing it by its neck and giving it a quick shake to snap it.

“Wow!” Pebblepaw hopped over to her. “That was great!”

“Yes, it was.” Sundapple slunk out from behind a bush. “I’m very impressed, Fawnpaw. That’s quite a large piece of prey for a cat of your size.”

Fawnpaw dropped the rabbit. “How long have you been watching us?”

Her mentor let out a purr of amusement. “Long enough. Trying to catch that bird was a bold move, even if it didn’t work out the way you planned.”

Pebblepaw let out a choked bit of laughter. “Sorry. How did we do?”

“Well, for being such young apprentices,” meowed Sundapple.

“Where is Sumactail?” Fawnpaw looked around for the other warrior.

Sundapple looked behind her, seeming uneasy. “She wasn’t feeling very well, so she went back to camp. I’m in charge of both of your assessments. Pebblepaw, even though you didn’t catch any prey, you did well. It’s difficult to hunt in snow, but as warriors you must be able to provide for your Clan in all seasons, regardless of the weather.”

Fawnpaw dipped her head. “Can we go back to camp now? My paws are freezing off!”

“Yes,” meowed Sundapple. “We can head back. Don’t forget your rabbit.”

Fawnpaw grabbed the fresh-kill and walked proudly back to camp, feeling like she would be a true benefit to her Clan.

\--------------------

The camp was in chaos. Fawnpaw couldn’t even tell what was happening. Several cats were lying near the medicine cats’ den under an overhang of pine branches. Several cats were yowling up at Sparrowstar, who stood on top of the fallen tree with a stressed expression on her face.

“How will we deal with this when there’s scarcely any prey?” Aspenfur, a brown and white tabby warrior, was loudly meowing to their leader. 

“Only a few cats are sick, Aspenfur. As long as we can control the spread and keep healthy cats going out on hunting patrols, we’ll make it through leaf-bare.”

He scoffed. “There’s no controlling greencough. It will tear through our Clan like a fire raging through the forest.”

“I would ask that you not upset our Clan any more than is necessary,” Sparrowstar meowed calmly. She gestured to where Willowleaf’s kits cowered beneath their mother. “We are all aware of the severity of greencough, and all we can do is pray to StarClan for our health and stock up as much prey as possible.

Trying to be unobtrusive, Fawnpaw padded between her clanmates to deposit her rabbit into the stump.  _ At least the prey will freeze now, so it will last longer. _

She raised her head to see Aspenfur sit back down, flattening his ears to his head. 

Heronfoot nodded to his leader, turning to address the Clan. “I will be sending out extra hunting patrols, so that we will be as prepared as possible if the sickness spreads.”

Willowleaf spoke up, voice quavering. “What about the kits? What if they get it?”

“I understand your worry, Willowleaf, but sickness is inevitable. We must work together as a Clan to get through it, and keep our faith.” Sparrowstar hopped down from the tree. “You are dismissed, RainClan.” She disappeared into her den.

The clamor starting up again, every cat trying to make their voices heard, but Heronfoot yowled for silence, and they quieted down. “Eagleclaw,” he meowed clearly.

The tan tom stepped forward, looking solemn.

“You will lead a hunting patrol. Leave as soon as possible. Take Wrensong, Crowflight, and Daisypetal.”

Eagleclaw meowed in assent and quickly made his way out of the camp, the other three warriors making haste after him.

Fawnpaw walked over to Cloverstem, who was half-heartedly picking at a very small mouse. “Who’s sick?”

Cloverstem fixed her kit with a tired stare. “It started with Lilytail this morning. Now both Sumactail and Cricketcall are sick too.”

Fawnpaw looked towards the pine tree that the sick cats lay under. “StarClan help us,” she meowed quietly.


	15. Chapter 15

Sundapple took a deep, grounding breath. “Mintpaw, I’m a little busy. Can you please stop chattering?”

The white tom brushed his pelt lightly against hers, and she flinched away. “Come on, Sundapple. Just give me a chance. You’re not even doing anything.”

“I’m thinking. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, I’m not interested. There are plenty of other she-cats you could be padding after.”

He sighed. “Fine, but just know I’m here if you change your mind.” He disappeared into the apprentices’ den.

_ I don’t want to hurt him, _ thought Sundapple. _ But I don’t want to be his mate, and even if I did, I don’t have time right now. _

“Tom trouble?” The amused rumble of her littermate's voice came from beside her. He sat, wrapping his dark ginger tail around his paws.

“You could say that.” Sundapple leaned into her brother’s side. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know.” Alderheart licked a paw and swiped it over his ear. “Hunting nonstop on very little sleep.”

Sundapple chuckled, sitting back up straight. “Between training Fawnpaw and hunting, I feel like I barely get a wink of sleep these days.”

“I thought I’d be envious that you were given an apprentice first, but I’m actually quite content.”

Sundapple rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, it’s a good thing I’m more capable than you.”

He playfully swatted at her. “Hey! I’m the one who always won our practice battles, don’t forget.”

She scoffed and stood. “I need to check on Fawnpaw. She’s pulling the elders’ ticks off and I want to make sure she hasn’t fallen on top of any of them.”

He flicked his ears, and she padded across the clearing into the elders’ den. It was much warmer in the enclosed space, and she closed her eyes in contentment for a moment.

“Sunpaw!” A cranky meow came from her right. “Have you come to help with our ticks? It’s about time, I haven’t seen you in here in moons.” Ravenfur blinked his cloudy blue eyes at her.

Next to him, Ashcloud stretched. “She’s Sundapple now, Ravenfur, remember?”

“Oh.” The tom narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Sorry. Right.”

Fawnpaw was focused on combing through Lilytail’s fur, scrutinizing it for ticks.

“Has she been doing well?” Sundapple directed her question at Ashcloud.

Ashcloud dipped his head. “Yes, very well. I’m glad that Sparrowstar gave her the opportunity to become a warrior apprentice.”

“As am I,” purred Sundapple, meeting Fawnpaw’s gaze. The small gray and white she-cat looked self-conscious. “She is a strong hunter and an asset to the Clan.”

Ravenfur let out a small, choking cough, and Sundapple’s paws went cold. “Ravenfur, should I get Vinepelt?” 

He was the oldest cat in the Clan, and though his mind was now confused, he had been a strong warrior in his day.

He responded by coughing more, looking out of breath.

“Fawnpaw, come on,” meowed Sundapple urgently. “We need to bring Ravenfur to Vinepelt.

Ashcloud nudged his denmate to his feet, murmuring something reassuring into his ear. The black tom unsteadily stood and followed Sundapple out of the den. She paused at the entrance to speak to Ashcloud for a moment.

“He’s been coughing slightly all day,” the dark gray tabby meowed, “but we hoped it was just the cold getting to him.”

Sundapple shook her head. “We can’t take any chances. I’ll bring him to Vinepelt.”

She gestured to Fawnpaw to stay by her side as they walked the black tom to the medicine cat’s den, hoping that Ravenfur would be alright.


	16. Chapter 16

Flowerpaw rushed from cat to cat, checking their breathing and reporting back to Vinepelt. “Ravenfur isn’t doing well,” she meowed hesitantly. “He’s so old, and I don’t know if his body can handle this.”

Vinepelt shook his head in defeat, watching the slow rise and fall of the old cat’s ribs. His breath rattled in and out irregularly as he struggled to get air into his lungs.

“I have a task for you,” meowed Vinepelt. “We need catmint, but there isn’t any on our territory. You’re going to have to go to MossClan and ask them for help. Pick a warrior to go with you as a safety measure, and go as soon as possible?”

“Don’t we have to talk to Sparrowstar?”

“She’ll sanction it. Don’t worry. This is a last resort, and she’ll understand the urgency. I had hoped this would be a simple whitecough outbreak and that the herbs in our stores would be enough, but greencough in leafbare calls for drastic measures. Whiterose should have a store of dried catmint, and hopefully enough to share. Make sure that the warrior you choose to take is  _ completely _ healthy. I don’t want to be responsible for spreading this to MossClan.”

Flowerpaw dipped her head and rushed out of the medicine cats’ clearing. Her first encounter with MossClan had been a bloody battle with the coyotes, and this was a very different situation. Her days as a warrior apprentice felt as if they were long behind her, even though it truly hadn’t been very long. She already knew the cat that she was going to bring, in order to have an experienced warrior with her who had met with MossClan before.

“Deerleap!” She spotted her former mentor across the clearing, and beckoned her with her tail. 

The seal point she-cat looked wistfully at the mouse she was eating, sighing and pushing it over to her mate, Falconwing, to finish. She padded gracefully over to Flowerpaw. “What is it?”

“I have to fetch catmint from MossClan. Vinepelt told me to bring a warrior with me, and you were the first one I thought of.”

Deerleap purred, blinking her blue eyes. “You missed me that much, did you?” She bounded ahead of Flowerpaw to the camp entrance. “I’ll come with you, if you can keep up with me!”

Flowerpaw put on a burst of speed to try and catch up to her. The warrior was widely known to be the fastest cat in the Clan, and Flowerpaw had struggled to keep up with her as a young apprentice, even when she had been in shape from her training.

She streaked through the forest, keeping her eyes focused on the dark brown tail-tip a few cat-lengths in front of her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and enjoyed the bluster of the freezing wind against her leaf-bare thick pelt. 

The border to MossClan seemed to come too soon, Flowerpaw panting with exhaustion as Deerleap slowed in front of her, barely winded. She enjoyed the dull ache of the exercise, and had missed it since she had become Vinepelt’s apprentice.

Deerleap flicked her ears. “We’ll go slow from now on. We wouldn’t want MossClan to think that we’re going to attack their camp.”

Flowerpaw began trudging behind her, looking around herself at the unfamiliar territory. She hadn’t gone far into MossClan’s territory during the battle, and it was strange to see a forest where she wasn’t familiar with every tree and stone. 

Before long, three cats padded out of the underbrush not far from them, the blue-gray she-cat in front obviously recognizing Deerleap and dipping her head. “What can we help you with?”

“Hello, Frozenstream,” meowed Deerleap gravely. “I’m sorry for coming onto your territory with no prior notice, but Flowerpaw needed to speak with Whiterose.”

Frozenstream looked puzzled. “Why does your apprentice need to see our medicine cat.”

Flowerpaw responded before Deerleap had a chance, wanting to clear up the confusion. “I’m no longer a warrior apprentice. Vinepelt is my mentor now.”

“Congratulations,” meowed Frozenstream. “The path of the medicine cat may not be easy, but it is great.”

_ I didn’t want this, _ thought Flowerpaw unhappily. “Yes,” she meowed, her voice filled with forced cheerfulness. “It truly is.” She dropped her tone to be more serious. “Our Clan is suffering from some cases of greencough. We have no catmint, and hoped that Whiterose had some in her stores.”

“Of course!” Frozenstream’s eyes had widened in surprise. “I hope it’s not serious. Mouseclaw,” she meowed to a small brown tabby tom at her side, “go ahead of us to camp and tell Whiterose what is going on. See if she has catmint to spare.”

He dipped his head and went off. 

Flowerpaw and Deerleap moved up to walk beside the two MossClan she-cats who remained, moving at an easy pace.

“I’m Maplesong,” meowed the tortoiseshell she-cat who had been quiet. “I don’t think that we’ve met.”

Flowerpaw dipped her head but didn’t say anything. Deerleap and Frozenstream fell into an easy conversation on the walk, but Flowerpaw felt like she was moons away. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to get any catmint, and that she would let the Clan down. She didn’t want any of her clanmates to die on her watch, even though she knew that it was inevitable.

When they entered the camp, Flowerpaw looked around her to see a clearing that wasn’t much different than the RainClan camp.

Frozenstream nodded towards a small cave created by two leaning rocks. “That’s Whiterose’s den. I’ve got to go tell Quailfeather that you’re here.” She quickly padded away.

_ Here I go _ , thought Flowerpaw.  _ I hope I don’t let Vinepelt down. _


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really short, so I'm sorry. I've been having some really bad writer's block lately, and am having trouble figuring out where to go next.

Fawnpaw slept fitfully in the apprentices’ den, the intermittent twitching of her paws repeatedly waking her up. She sighed and rolled over. It was the middle of the night, and she was so stressed that she was having trouble sleeping. Thistlepaw and Pebblepaw were curled near her at the edge of the den, their breathing slow and deep.

Larkpaw, Mintpaw, and Thornpaw, the older apprentices, slept in the center of the den, enjoying the warmth. 

Fawnpaw decided to give up on sleep, instead padding out into the clearing. She heard murmuring from the medicine cats by the large pine tree, and figured that they were still awake, taking care of the sick cats.

A ginger shape sat by the camp entrance, shoulders hunched with exhaustion.

“Sundapple?” Fawnpaw stumbled as she walked over to her mentor, hissing in frustration that her limbs weren’t doing what her brain wanted them to.

The she-cat looked up, her amber eyes bleary. “What are you doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Fawnpaw sat down next to her. “I can take over if you need to get some sleep.”

Sundapple shook her head. “You’re too young to sit a watch by yourself.” She paused for a few moments, and then abruptly meowed, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Fawnpaw.”

“About what?” Fawnpaw tilted her head, feeling a stir of worry in her belly.  _ Am I not doing well enough? _

Sundapple closed her eyes, as if she was preparing to say something very difficult. “This is going to sound strange.”

Fawnpaw stared at her mentor. “Okay…?” 

“StarClan spoke to me the night I became a warrior. They gave me a prophecy, and you were in it.”

“What?” Fawnpaw shook her head. “No. That’s impossible. I’m struggling with basic warrior training. How could I be in one of StarClan’s prophecies?”

“I know it sounds that way, but it was real. My father, Stonetail, gave it to me. I spoke to Vinepelt about it later, and he told me that he’d had a similar prophecy given to him.” Sundapple unsheathed and sheathed her claws in agitation, ginger paws sinking into the snow.

“What did it say?” She tried to calm her racing thoughts, figuring that it couldn’t be all that serious.

“In times when trees are bare and dead, the clan is filled with grief and dread. A hunger great shall fill the land, one in which they cannot withstand. Fawn and Flower come with spring, to help prevent the deadly sting.” She sighed. “You’re Fawn, obviously, and Flowerpaw is Flower. There was a reason that Sparrowstar decided that she should become a medicine cat. The sign that Vinepelt received said that it was her destiny.”

“There’s no way that’s real!” Fawnpaw stood, paws shaking. “I can’t deal with this right now. I’m going hunting.”

“Fawnpaw!” Sundapple’s voice was sharp. “You cannot go out alone. The coyotes still roam the forest, and it’s the middle of the night. I understand if you’re upset with me, but as your mentor I have the final say.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, turning tail and padding towards the pine tree. Maybe she could help the medicine cats to take her mind off of this. She couldn’t even begin to process what Sundapple had just told her.


	18. Chapter 18

The cold bit harder and sharper this morning than it had so far this leaf-bare. Sundapple stood stock-still in the snow, watching an arc of birds fly above her. Sometimes she wished that she could sprout wings, like them, and fly away from all her troubles. She watched her breath escape her lips in a cloudy puff of air. _ I shouldn’t have told Fawnpaw,  _ she thought regretfully. The words had come out of her as a mistake, a result of being too tired and too worried. The greencough epidemic was raging through the Clan. Too many cats were sick too quickly, even though Flowerpaw had gotten catmint from MossClan. 

They had lost Ravenfur the night before, and Sundapple’s paws were still filthy from helping the elders scrape enough of the frozen earth up to bury him. They were weak and underfed, and since the ground was so hard, Sparrowstar had sent her to help Ashcloud and Lilytail. The elders had worked slowly, each movement difficult and strained, and Sundapple had done her best to do the brunt of the work. Even though she was just as hungry as them, she had the advantage of being younger and having more energy reserves. 

“Sundapple!” The harsh voice belonged to Heronfoot. “Stop sitting around and go hunting. Take Finchstripe and Thistlepaw with you.” The ginger tom flicked his tail in dismissal, and she reluctantly headed for the tangle of thorny branches that marked the edge of the camp. 

Finchstripe silently appeared at her side before she could call for him, his exhausted young apprentice standing with a drooping tail slightly behind them. “Let’s go,” he grunted, taking the lead.

Sundapple followed him, feeling so exhausted that she was numb. Her coat was thinning, and the cold affected her more than it usually did. It had been more than two days since she’d had more than short naps to regain her strength, and she knew that if she kept going at this pace, she would run herself into the ground. Heronfoot seemed determined to keep her working, however. The tom barely ever put himself on patrol, and seemed well-rested and relatively well-fed, but the other warriors were becoming just as gaunt as Sundapple. She hardly ever saw Sparrowstar, and she wondered what the she-cat was doing that was so important that she couldn’t even give her Clan hope.

Finchstripe paused to hurl himself into a snowbank, emerging with a small, thin chipmunk clenched in his jaws. He spat it onto the ground. “It’s not much, but it’s something.” He glanced around nervously. “I’ll be right back.” The tan tom picked the chipmunk back up and vanished into the trees.

“Where did he go?” His apprentice looked puzzled.

Sundapple flicked her ears. She didn’t know or care. “Probably just to make dirt.”

A few moments later, he was back, setting the prey down and scraping snow and leaf litter over it.

Sundapple saw Thistlepaw eyeing it ravenously. “I know you’re hungry,” she meowed gently to the tabby, “But we have to feed the Clan before we feed ourselves.”

His shoulders hunched in defeat. “I know. I’m just so hungry, all the time.” He looked at her sadly. “Mother says that one of Willowleaf’s kits is sick now. She doesn’t think he’s going to make it.”

Finchstripe looked stricken. Willowleaf obviously hadn’t informed him of this. “Stop gossiping and get to hunting,” he hissed at his apprentice, the fur on his spine standing up.

Thistlepaw looked afraid and turned, scrambling to the other side of the hollow that they stood in to sniff at some small burrows in the clefts of the tree roots. 

Sundapple shot Finchstripe a harsh glance. “You have no right to speak to him that way. I know he’s your apprentice, but he didn’t do anything to deserve that. It’s your fault that Willowleaf doesn’t speak to you anymore, and you shouldn’t take it out on others.”

He hissed again and stalked away, leaving the hollow. Sundapple decided to let him go, and focus on hunting with Thistlepaw. She didn’t know how anyone put up with Finchstripe, let alone how he’d manage to have kits with two she-cats in the Clan. She approached the apprentice, who was staring distantly at the tree. “Thistlepaw?”

“Huh?” He shook his head roughly. “Sorry. I’m so tired I keep losing focus.”

“I understand. I’ve been feeling the same way.” She paused as a chickadee hopped along a branch not far above her, and hurtled herself upwards with her powerful back legs to grasp it between her paws. “Ha!” She meowed triumphantly, killing it quickly. The tiny bird wouldn’t offer much more than a bite, but every piece of prey caught was StarClan-sent. She looked up to share in her victory with Thistlepaw, but the gray tabby was swaying on his paws. “Are you alright?”

He blinked in confusion at her, eyes glassy, and collapsed to the ground, twitching violently.

“Thistlepaw!” Forgetting her prey entirely, she grasped the apprentice firmly by the scruff and began dragging him back in the direction of the RainClan camp. His starving frame was incredibly light, and even in her weakened state, she didn’t have much trouble.

He still seized violently beneath her, red tinged foam falling from his jaws onto the snow beneath him as she pulled him towards the camp. As soon as she reached the camp entrance, she dropped him and began screeching. “Help! Help! Vinepelt! Flowerpaw!”

She watched helplessly as the apprentice’s chest rose and fell more slowly, his violent shaking becoming weak twitching. Vinepelt sprinted out towards her, looking at the apprentice below her in horror. “Flowerpaw!” His voice was full of fear. “Get me yarrow, now!”

The calico apprentice was in the thorn tunnel within moments, cramming the herbs into the Thistlepaw’s jaws. He coughed weakly and then vomited a mix of prey and red specks onto the ground.

“Is that blood?” Sundapple looked at it, horrified.

Vinepelt shook his head grimly. “I wish that was all it was. Those are deathberries, Sundapple. This apprentice has been poisoned.”


	19. Chapter 19

Flowerpaw sat in the medicine cats’ clearing, watching Thistlepaw’s family sit around him, nosing his fur. 

Cloverstem had been devastated when she had found out, letting out a wail of despair. She had been through enough when Pebblepaw had gone missing as a kit, and had only just recovered from that.

Thistlepaw was clinging to life, but only just. Vinepelt had said that the next few sunsets would show what StarClan destined for him. They had given him yarrow as soon as they could, but the fact that he had been poisoned outside of camp meant that it may have been too late to save him. 

She sighed and padded out of the clearing. Watching the tragedy unfold in front of her was only going to hurt her more. She didn’t know how the young tom had ended up eating deathberries, but she had a nasty feeling that it had something to do with Finchstripe and Spruceclaw. 

She went to find Larkpaw, who seemed to be her only solace in these difficult times. She found the pale gray she-cat standing by the fallen tree, staring up at it with an almost wistful look in her eyes. 

“What’re you looking at?” Flowerpaw’s voice seemed to shock her littermate back into reality, and she fixed her with her odd-eyed stare. 

“Nothing,” meowed Larkpaw distantly. She glanced again at the tree, and then turned her attention to her sister, twitching her whiskers in a feigned attempt at happiness. “How are you?”

Flowerpaw shrugged, deciding to ask her littermate about her troubles later. “You know. Thistlepaw’s not doing so well.”

Larkpaw absently dipped her head. “I know.” Her eyes seemed to unfocus and then refocus on Flowerpaw. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” meowed Flowerpaw. She went ahead of her sister, making her way into the forest with the assumption that Larkpaw was following her. When she glanced behind her after entering the forest she found her close behind, still looking distant. “What’s bothering you, Larkpaw?”

She didn’t respond for a few moments, padding up until she was parallel with Flowerpaw and looking off into the forest. “I just wish that I could become a warrior.”

“I know you do,” Flowerpaw stated, puzzled. “Why is it bothering you so much now?”

Larkpaw sighed as they made their way towards the dead oak. “It’s a mix of things, I suppose. Part of it is that I know that you will never be a warrior, and it upsets me. I know that you would have been a great one. The other is that I know that Mintpaw and I are ready to have our warrior ceremonies, but Sparrowstar hasn’t granted them yet. It’s almost like she’s too distracted to pay any attention to the Clan around her.” She gave Flowerpaw a desperate glance. “Please tell me you’ve noticed it too.”

“I do,” meowed Flowerpaw. “Sparrowstar has been acting strangely. Vinepelt and I have discussed it. She isn’t acting like a normal leader, and we think that she’s letting Heronfoot take control of too much of the Clan.”

Larkpaw dipped her head, looking relieved. “Thank StarClan. I was beginning to think that I was losing my mind. I haven’t wanted to bother anyone with this, and I know that if I told Mintpaw it would be all over the Clan by sunhigh.”

Flowerpaw purred a laugh, brushing her pelt against her sister’s. “Even with Sparrowstar’s problems, the Clan will survive. Leaf-bare is always difficult, even if this one is worse than most.” She flicked her ears as they neared the oak. “Are you going to hunt?”

“Yes,” meowed Larkpaw.

“I’ll help,” Flowerpaw decided. She’d been feeling so helpless lately, what with all the sick cats. At least hunting was a tangible way that she could make a difference.

\---------------

“Where have you been?” Sparrowstar hissed furiously at Flowerpaw, her dark brown fur standing on end. 

Flowerpaw dropped her prey on the fresh-kill pile, twitching her tail tip irritably. “I don’t know, Sparrowstar. You tell me.” She gestured to the chickadee and rabbit that she had just set down. She was so tired of being treated like a villain when all she had done was tried her best to support her Clan in her new role.

Sparrowstar looked even more irate. “How dare you speak to me in that fashion. You should have been here.” She glanced around wildly. “This is your fault, Flowerpaw.”

“What’s my fault?” Flowerpaw was baffled by the leader’s ridiculous behavior. She knew that the she-cat had been distracted lately, but now she seemed borderline insane. 

“It’s Thornpaw,” she wailed. “He’s sick!”

Flowerpaw shouldered past the frantic she-cat, making her way to where Vinepelt stood with the sick cats by the pine tree.  _ That’s no way for a leader to act, _ she thought.

Her mother had told her about the events surrounding Sparrowstar’s kitting, but she didn’t think that the she-cat should be acting the way she was, regardless if her kit was sick. 

Sparrowstar had been pregnant with Eagleclaw’s kits. They hadn’t been mates for long, and during the time when she was carrying the kits, the two cats decided that they didn’t want to have a permanent relationship. Both had treated each other coldly since, and no cat really knew what had happened between them. The kits had come early, and two of them had died soon after. Two more lingered on, but the tiny she-kit, Leafkit, hadn’t made it very long. Thornkit had proven the strongest, and since he had managed to survive, Sparrowstar had become extremely protective of him. Nothing he did was ever wrong in her eyes, and when it came time for him to become an apprentice, she gave him to her deputy to mentor. Heronfoot treated the tom in the same way his mother did, and as such he was extremely entitled.

Flowerpaw couldn’t claim to like Thornpaw. She never had, as he had always treated her and her littermates poorly, but she didn’t want him to be sick with greencough.

“Flowerpaw, about time,” Vinepelt mewed brusquely as she padded up to him. “I just gave Thornpaw some catmint. He isn’t that sick yet, and since he’s young and strong I’m hoping it won't affect him too badly. Can you please give Sumactail and Swanflight another dose?”

Flowerpaw nodded and picked up a wad of catmint, padding to Sumactail first and setting some down in front of her. The she-cat looked appreciatively up at her, eyes streaming and nose crusted with gunk. Flowerpaw then went to Swanflight, who had only been ill for a few sunrises. She felt sorry for the she-cat. So soon after her difficult kitting, being ill was the last thing that she needed. “Swanflight?” She nudged the sleeping she-cat, freezing when she realized her body was cold. “Vinepelt!”

The tom sprinted over to her. “What is it?”

“When was the last time you checked Swanflight?”

Vinepelt looked at the white cat, obviously shocked at the realization that she wasn’t breathing. “Not long ago!” He looked distraught. “How could this happen? I thought that she was doing well.”

Flowerpaw closed her eyes, willing away reality, wanting this all to be a terrible dream. “I’ll go tell Willowleaf,” she meowed. “I suppose she’ll have to be Tinykit’s mother now.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Fawnpaw?” 

The voice was hoarse and raspy, but it made her jerk out of her half-asleep state, all drowsiness gone, and she stared at her brother to see if what she had heard was real.

He stared wearily at her with half-lidded eyes, his head still resting on his paws. He still looked exhausted, but at least he was awake.

“Thistlepaw!” She unsteadily got to her feet, stretching out her paws, which were numb from being under her for so long. “How do you feel?”

“Terrible,” he croaked, flattening his gray ears to his head. “What happened?”

Fawnpaw shook her head, still shocked at the events that had led to Thistlepaw’s illness. “Vinepelt says that you were poisoned. He didn’t know if you would wake up!”

Thistlepaw looked troubled. “I knew that chipmunk tasted funny,” he muttered.

“What chipmunk?” Vinepelt’s voice cut into their conversation, and Fawnpaw turned her head to see the black tom standing behind her. He looked exhausted, probably from sitting vigil with Swanflight the night before. Flowerpaw stood a few tail-lengths behind, a bundle of herbs in her jaws.

“I know I shouldn’t have eaten it,” murmured Thistlepaw. “But I was so, so hungry, and I thought that since I was hunting for the Clan, it would be okay.” He curled his tail across his front paws uncomfortably.

“Let me get this straight,” meowed the medicine cat. “You caught a chipmunk and you ate it? That’s all?”

Thistlepaw made a small grunt of disagreement. “No.  _ Finchstripe _ caught the chipmunk. He buried it, and when he was arguing with Sundapple, I ate it. Then I started to feel funny and distant, and my belly began to hurt. I don’t remember anything after that.”

“Finchstripe!” Flowerpaw hissed, spitting the herbs violently onto the ground. Her yellow eyes flashed with anger. “He must have done this.” She padded to stand next to her mentor, looking guilty. “I should have told you this sooner, Vinepelt. Ever since I told Willowleaf about Finchstripe and Swanflight, he’s been out to get me. Larkpaw told me that he and Spruceclaw have been talking about how to hurt me, even after I became a medicine cat apprentice.”

Fawnpaw spoke up, her voice tremulous. “If he wanted to hurt Flowerpaw, then why is Thistlepaw the one who got sick?”

“He probably meant the chipmunk for me,” meowed the calico she-cat. “It must have been mere coincidence that Thistlepaw ate it first.”

Vinepelt sighed, sitting down heavily. “You’re right, Flowerpaw. You should have told me, but I understand why you didn’t. Finchstripe is an experienced warrior, and it’s difficult for an apprentice to bring up concerns about a cat like that.” He looked between the young apprentices, then back at Flowerpaw. “I’ll have to discuss this with Sparrowstar, and I don’t know how receptive she’ll be. You saw how willing she was to give Finchstripe an apprentice so soon after what he did to Willowleaf and Swanflight.”

Flowerpaw dipped her head. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell her that I told you. I don’t think that she likes me very much.”

Vinepelt purred a laugh. “Sparrowstar doesn’t like anyone these days. You can count on me to try and convince her the best I can.” He looked at Thistlepaw. “In the meantime, we need to get some prey and water into this apprentice. Fawnpaw, get your brother some prey. Not too much, nothing bigger than a mouse or chickadee.”

Fawnpaw dipped her head, mind racing, and padded out of the clearing.  _ Finchstripe was trying to murder Flowerpaw _ , she thought incredulously.  _ What is this Clan coming to? _


	21. Chapter 21

Sundapple crouched in the shadow of a leafless bush, waving her tail for her apprentice to stay quiet. Three cats stood in the clearing ahead of them, muttering quietly among themselves. It was technically outside RainClan territory, but barely, and rogues didn’t usually travel in groups.

One of the cats was a golden brown tabby tom with sleek fur. He looked too well groomed and fed to be a rogue, and Sundapple wondered if he could be a kittypet. They didn’t usually venture this far into the forest, as it was far from any twolegplace, and she’d never seen one herself. 

As she watched, the golden brown tom walked closer to the border and marked his scent. Sundapple’s pelt bristled with anger at the thought of a cat marking their territory so close to RainClan’s.

They had simply been patrolling the border as part of their daily training when Sundapple had scented something strange. She had smelled cats near this part of the forest before, and had become concerned when she realized that the scent was much stronger this time.

The second cat was an older she-cat with a dark gray pelt and a missing ear. She looked more like a rogue, and had the battle scars to show a life filled with hardships. The third cat appeared to be her companion, and was a ginger tabby with white paws, also skinny and riddled with scars.

“I’m going out there,” muttered Sundapple to Fawnpaw. “Stay here. You’re not ready for a confrontation yet. If you see trouble brewing, get back to camp quick as you can and tell Heronfoot.”

Fawnpaw’s eyes widened. Sundapple figured that she hadn’t expected something like this to happen during a routine training session.

Sundapple stepped out of the bushes, trying to seem as authoritative as possible. “Who are you?”

The ginger tabby jumped, turning towards Sundapple with fluffed out fur. He hissed aggressively, not saying anything.

“I asked you a question,” meowed Sundapple sternly, making sure to keep her paws on the RainClan side of the border.

The tabby narrowed his eyes, seeming to realize that he wasn’t under immediate threat of attack, and shook out his pelt. “I am Scorchwind. Are you of RainClan?”

“Yes,” she meowed, scenting the air. “You don’t smell like MossClan. And if you are MossClan cats, what are you doing outside your territory and so near to ours?”

Scorchwind scoffed. “We’re certainly not MossClan. We are our own group of cats, and this is our territory.”

“What?” Sundapple looked at the two cats behind him. “If you’re not MossClan, then who are you?”

The gray she-cat stepped forward. “We are SmokeClan, and we are reclaiming our territory.”


	22. Chapter 22

Flowerpaw watched as Fawnpaw scrambled into camp, her unsteady legs trembling beneath her as she panted from exertion. The Clan had heard her yowling in the forest, and had all gathered in the main clearing to see what was the matter.

“Heronfoot,” Fawnpaw gasped, her head twitching from side to side. “I need to tell Heronfoot.”

A cold voice responded. “He’s out on patrol. If it’s important, I believe that as your leader I have a right to know.” 

Heads swiveled all at once, and Flowerpaw held her breath as she saw Sparrowstar sitting outside of her den, blue eyes hard. Somehow, the dark brown cat looked relatively calm, even though she had been panicking about her sick kit just a few sunrises before.

Fawnpaw didn’t look like she cared who she talked to. “There are these cats at the border. Sundapple confronted them, and told me that if it looked bad to head back to camp and tell Heronfoot.”

“Rogues?” Sparrowstar stood, seeming as though her grievances were forgotten.

“No, no,” Fawnpaw shook her head anxiously. “We thought they were rogues at first. But they have warrior names, and they said that they were from SmokeClan. I’m afraid that Sundapple is going to get hurt!” Her voice rose to a wail at her final statement.

“SmokeClan?” Daisypetal stood, long ginger and white fur standing on end. “No, it can’t be.”

Even Sparrowstar looked concerned, and Flowerpaw felt a pang of fear. “That’s not possible,” the leader meowed, sounding calmer than she looked. “SmokeClan has been gone for a long time.”

Fawnpaw looked frustrated. “I don’t care who those cats are, I’m just telling you what they said. Sundapple is in trouble, and we need to help her.”

Sparrowstar stared calculatingly at her for a few heartbeats, then looked to the Clan. “Daisypetal, you lead the patrol. You were here when SmokeClan was, so if any of these cats actually were part of the Clan, you’ll know. Eagleclaw,” she eyed the tan tom distastefully, “you and Crowflight go with her. Fawnpaw, you go too.”

Eagleclaw appeared to ignore the leader’s unhappiness and stood to pad with the other cats out of the camp. Flowerpaw could hear Fawnpaw chattering nervously, telling the others where her mentor was.

Flowerpaw turned to Larkpaw, who sat next to her. “Who are SmokeClan?”

“No idea.” Larkpaw shook her head. “Did you see how Daisypetal reacted, though? For a warrior that experienced to respond like that, they must be a serious threat.

Sparrowstar’s yowl jerked them out of their conversation. “RainClan, gather beneath the fallen tree.” The majority of the Clan were still milling around the clearing, and they turned to face their leader. She leapt up to the tree, lashing her tail impatiently. “It has been brought to my attention that there are two apprentices who have earned the right to become warriors.”

“Why is she doing this now?” Larkpaw hissed. “It’s the middle of the day, and half the Clan is off dealing with a threat. She hasn’t even given us any notice.” She frantically began to groom her pelt, and Flowerpaw moved to help her sister. 

“Larkpaw, join me on the fallen tree.”

Larkpaw looked up, her expression somewhere between excited and irritated. “Wish me luck,” she murmured to Flowerpaw as she brushed past her.

Flowerpaw felt jealousy stir inside her. This should have been her warrior ceremony as well, but Sparrowstar had taken all of that away from her. She managed to control the jealousy, and tried to feel pride for her littermates.

Larkpaw stood proudly on the fallen tree, her pale gray coat shining in the direct sunlight. 

“You have worked hard in your apprenticeship, showing strong loyalty to your Clan. Spruceclaw has spoken well of you, and agrees that you are more than ready to become a warrior. Larkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and put loyalty to your Clan above all else?”

“I do,” Larkpaw meowed gravely.

“Will you show bravery and resolve, and dedicate your life to supporting RainClan?”

“Of course.”

“Then, Larkpaw, I name you Larkfeather, warrior of RainClan.”

Her eyes shone as the Clan called her new name, and she leapt down to sit next to Flowerpaw again. The two she-cats leaned against one another, Flowerpaw purring.

Mintpaw was called up next, and he bounded forward, his white pelt glowing thanks to Lilytail’s efforts. He easily blended in with the snow across the camp. Flowerpaw barely paid attention to his ceremony, as she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts. 

He received his warrior name of Mintleaf, and the gathered cats chanted it proudly. 

Flowerpaw licked Larkpaw’s ear in farewell and headed back to the medicine cat’s den to check in with Vinepelt, her heart feeling heavy. While she was proud of her littermates, she couldn’t help but feel left behind.

So much had happened today, and her paws tingled with worry for the cats who had gone to meet with SmokeClan.

_ Speak to me, StarClan _ , she thought.  _ Give me a sign that you’re with me. _

She closed her eyes and stopped, giving a deep sigh of frustration. How was RainClan supposed to get through this leaf-bare without the guidance of StarClan?


	23. Chapter 23

“They’re just beyond these bushes,” Fawnpaw meowed. 

Daisypetal flicked her tail in acknowledgment, padding forward to peer through the snowy branches. “I can’t see through,” she murmured, turning back to the rest of the patrol. “We’re going to have to go around.”

Eagleclaw and Crowflight moved to flank her, with Fawnpaw trailing behind them. The four cats made their way around the bush, trying to move as quietly as possible. As they were almost in view of the clearing, Fawnpaw sent a silent prayer to StarClan. 

“There’s no one there,” meowed Eagleclaw in surprise. He turned to Fawnpaw, narrowing his eyes. “You didn’t make this up, did you?” 

“No!” Fawnpaw stepped forward and glanced around wildly. “They were here, I swear!”

“She wouldn’t make this up, Eagleclaw,” muttered Crowflight, speaking up for the first time since they’d left the camp. “How would she even know who SmokeClan is? We don’t make a habit of telling the apprentices about them.”

Daisypetal let out a noise of worry. “Sundapple knows. She asked me about them, and so I told her the story. At least she might be prepared.”

Crowflight lashed his tail. “We’re going to have to go after her. She was my apprentice, and I’m not going to leave her to die.”

Eagleclaw scoffed. “If she was stupid enough to get captured on her own territory, I don’t want to risk my neck for her.”

Daisypetal rounded on him, lashing out with a paw and batting him with sheathed claws. She didn’t tackle the tom, but she looked like she was on the verge of it. Fawnpaw shied away from the angry she-cat. “That’s my kit you’re talking about! Don’t you dare call her stupid. She’s a loyal and brave warrior who’s trying to do the best for her Clan.”

“I’m not going outside of our territory for _ your kit _ ,” Eagleclaw drawled, looking unperturbed.

“Then go,” meowed Crowflight in a threatening tone. “Go back to camp like a kit mewling for its mother.”

Eagleclaw shrugged and turned away, strolling back into the forest.

Crowflight stared darkly after him. “That tom doesn’t deserve to be called a warrior.”

“Won’t he get in trouble for not helping a Clanmate?” Fawnpaw looked up at him, feeling better now that Eagleclaw had gone.

Daisypetal laughed before Crowflight could answer. “Sparrowstar won’t say a word against Eagleclaw. Whatever happened between them, it made him able to get away with anything he wants.” She shook her head. “Nevermind him. Let’s go get Sundapple.”

Fawnpaw dipped her head and followed the two older warriors as they gingerly stepped outside of RainClan territory. She felt a thrill of excitement as she looked around. Even though it was simply a field that she had seen before, it somehow felt completely different than their own territory.

Crowflight had paused, tasting the air. “You said three cats were here, Fawnpaw?”

“Yes,” she meowed. “There was a ginger tom, a gray she-cat, and a golden-brown tom.”

Crowflight dipped his head. “I can smell them. It’s a strange scent, almost rogue-like, but not quite. They’ve been living together long enough to have a similar scent. I can also smell Sundapple.” He gestured across the field and into the adjoining forest. “They went that way. Let’s go.”

Daisypetal let Fawnpaw go in front of her and they padded forward, paws sinking into the soft snow. Fawnpaw scented as they walked, trying to memorize the scents of the unfamiliar cats.

They made their way across the field and into the undergrowth, passing some gnarled, scrawny trees, and then entered a thicker area of forest. The trees quickly grew denser than in RainClan territory, with few areas of cover on the ground because of the tight canopy of branches. Fawnpaw shuddered slightly, the cold air biting at her. 

Crowflight suddenly stopped and flicked his tail sharply.

Fawnpaw froze, looking around. “What is it?” She whispered.

“I hear cats,” murmured Crowflight. “We’re downwind from them, so they shouldn’t be able to scent us.” His remaining ear swiveled to one side. “Follow me and be silent.”

The three cats slunk towards the cats, Fawnpaw slowly beginning to hear their voices as they got closer. 

“They’re going to come looking for me,” Fawnpaw heard Sundapple meow bravely. “They won’t leave me here.”

“That’s exactly what we want,” meowed another voice. Fawnpaw thought she recognized the ginger tabby tom from before. 

Fawnpaw heard Daisypetal stop moving behind her, and she turned to see the ginger and white she-cat standing completely still, mouth open as she scented the air. Her eyes narrowed, and she overtook Crowflight and Fawnpaw before they could stop her. She bounded out of their cover, announcing their presence to the SmokeClan cats.

“Graymask,” she hissed.

Crowflight leapt after her, and Fawnpaw followed as quickly as she could.

The gray she-cat was staring at Daisypetal with a look of cool contempt. “Daisypetal. How are you?” Her voice was almost mocking.

“Release her,” Daisypetal commanded.

Sundapple shot Crowflight and Fawnpaw a pleading look, obviously not wanting her mother to get into a fight with this dangerous she-cat.

Graymask laughed, leaning down to lick a paw as if she was bored of the interaction. “Why so hostile? I just wanted to see an old friend.”

“We’re anything but friends,” hissed Daisypetal resolutely. 

Graymask offered her an obviously false look of sadness, sighing. “Daisypetal, Daisypetal. You’ve always been so stubborn. We were so close once, don’t you remember?”

“I wish I didn’t,” spat the she-cat.

Sundapple interrupted, speaking up from where she crouched between the two toms, who appeared to be standing guard. “You know this she-cat, mother?”

“Mother?” Graymask’s eyes sparkled with delight. “You should have told me that this was your kit, my dear sister! What a lovely family reunion this is.” She turned and looked to Sundapple, seeming pleased with the situation. “It’s good to meet you, young warrior. I am Graymask, your mother’s littermate.”

Fawnpaw’s heart sank. How much was there that she didn’t know about RainClan’s past?


	24. Chapter 24

Sundapple’s mind reeled. Her mother had a  _ littermate _ ? She had grown up believing that her mother had been a single kit, and that her parents had died long ago. This mangy gray she-cat looked nothing like Daisypetal! “You’re lying,” she meowed. “My mother doesn’t have any siblings.” She looked at Fawnpaw, who stood behind Daisypetal. The apprentice appeared stunned, staring blankly at the back of the ginger and white she-cat.

Graymask laughed. “So much faith in your mother! She’s just a cat, like all of us. Everyone has their secrets.”

Daisypetal looked at Sundapple with sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sundapple. I didn’t tell you because it’s a part of my life that I’d rather forget.” She sighed. “I was born in SmokeClan.”

“No!” Sundapple recoiled. She couldn’t believe this. “You’re a loyal RainClan cat!”

Crowflight sighed and padded up to stand next to Daisypetal. “She is as loyal to RainClan as the rest of us. She left SmokeClan when Reedstar first began his campaign to conquer the forest.”

“It was a hard decision,” meowed Daisypetal, looking defeated. “I didn’t want to leave my family, but I had watched them become monsters before my eyes.”

Graymask spat at her, composure seemingly broken. “Us, monsters? You’ve deluded yourself. We were only doing what was best for the Clan, what we needed to do to survive!” Her amber eyes smoldered. “Our father was the best leader that this forest has ever seen.”

Realization began to stir within Sundapple.  _ Reedstar _ . The tyrannical leader that her mother had told about with such difficulty had been her father. Now it made sense why she had been so hesitant to discuss the Clan. She felt sorrow for her mother, having to leave everyone that she knew and loved just to do the right thing. “Your father was a monster,” she hissed, responding before her mother could. “Daisypetal told me what he did. He murdered an entire Clan over  _ territory _ .” She stared defiantly at the gray she-cat for a few moments, silence stretching between them save for the wind whistling through the trees.

A crackling in the bushes behind Crowflight and Fawnpaw made all the cats jump.

Sparrowstar emerged from the underbrush, her dark pelt standing out against the snow beneath her. “Graymask,” she meowed levelly. “I should have known if any cat was behind this, it would be you.” A few more cats followed, Robinwing and Rabbitnose, and they stared warily at the SmokeClan cats.

“Joyous,” Graymask meowed dryly. “More guests.” She flicked her tail, and the ginger tabby tom that had been guarding Sundapple, Scorchwind, padded to stand next to her. The fluffy tom stayed, giving Sundapple a warning hiss as she readied herself to get away from him and run back to her clanmates. 

Sparrowstar made eye contact with her and shook her head slightly. Sundapple relaxed her muscles, trusting her leader to make the right decision.

“Allow us to take our warrior back to camp,” meowed Sparrowstar. “You are vastly outnumbered, and I have no wish to do battle today.”

Graymask let out a raspy purr of amusement. “Oh, are we?” She flicked her tail once again, and Sundapple’s heart skipped a beat as she realized cats were slinking out on all sides. There had to be at least ten of them, and they appeared to be well-seasoned warriors.

Sparrowstar hissed, and her warriors bunched closer around her. “Fine, Graymask. I will give you a fight, if you so desire.”

Without a single sound, the SmokeClan cats launched forward, bowling into the RainClan cats. Sundapple ran forward, since her guard was now gone, desperate to find Fawnpaw. The apprentice was still so young, and her fighting skills were nowhere near where Sundapple would have liked them to be for her first battle. 

A wail rose up, and Sundapple turned toward it in panic, but relaxed when she realized that Crowflight was soundly beating a black and white she-cat, pinning her to the ground with sharp claws.

Gray and white fur flashed across her vision, and she blindly sprinted towards it. Fawnpaw had been thrown across the clearing by a large brown tom, and she was struggling to get up. Sundapple threw herself between them, fluffing out her fur and hissing at him.

He leapt toward her, but she quickly rolled out of the way, getting back to her feet and jumping on his back. She dug her teeth into his scruff, trying to unbalance him.

He managed to throw her off, and she felt the breath leave her body as she landed in the freezing snow. She recovered and stood again, but before she could make her next move, Fawnpaw had somehow managed to latch herself onto the tom’s throat. Before the tom could use his powerful paws to dislodge her again, Sundapple moved behind him and bit down hard on his tail.

He shrieked, distracted, and then choked. Sundapple released his tail and went to help Fawnpaw, but found that she didn’t need to.

The small apprentice’s face was spattered with blood, and she was spitting it out onto the ground, sides heaving. The tom swayed for a few moments, then collapsed to the ground in a heap, his throat a bloody mess.

Sundapple brushed her pelt against the smaller cat’s comfortingly, licking her ears. “We need to keep fighting.”

Fawnpaw appeared to steel herself, pinning her ears back. “Let’s go.”

They launched themselves into the throng of cats, mentor and apprentice fighting as hard as they could for their Clan.


	25. Chapter 25

“Something’s wrong,” Vinepelt meowed.

An eerie silence stretched throughout the camp, highly unusual for the height of the day. Flowerpaw knew that some cats had gone to fetch Sundapple, including Sparrowstar, but it still shouldn’t have been so quiet. She turned her head questioningly towards her mentor, pausing her preparation of catmint for the sick cats. She swiped her paws through the snow to clean them a bit and turned her full attention to him.

Vinepelt, without saying a word, pelted out of the clearing and into the main camp. Flowerpaw followed, confused.

“Great StarClan,” Vinepelt whispered, staring at something on the ground.

Flowerpaw pushed past him to see what he was looking at.

A sparrow lay on the ground, blood staining the snow around it. It twitched feebly, dying, and Flowerpaw leaned forward to kill it. “It’s just a sparrow, Vinepelt,” she meowed irritably. “I wonder how it got over here.”

He shuddered. “It’s not just a sparrow. It’s a sign from StarClan. Sparrowstar is in great danger.”

“We kill sparrows all the time!” Flowerpaw picked it up and brought it to the stump where they stored fresh-kill. “There,” she meowed as she returned to her mentor, “out of sight, out of mind.”

He looked at her sadly. “There is much that you still need to learn about being a medicine cat, Flowerpaw. Sometimes, the tiniest things symbolize devastating change to the Clan. StarClan is not always clear, and you must learn to interpret their omens, not just put them aside.”

She dipped her head, not really taking him seriously. _ It’s just a stupid sparrow, _ she thought. “Vinepelt,” she mewed slowly, trying to change the subject. “Do you know what’s going to happen to Finchstripe.”

He shrugged. “Heronfoot will probably have to deal with him. He’s playing it off like it was an accident, like Thistlepaw simply ate a chipmunk that had ingested deathberries, but none of us believe him.” He looked sharply at her. “I know what you’re doing, Flowerpaw, but there’s no time to attempt to distract me. We need to go help our leader.”

“Right now?” Flowerpaw flicked her ears. “Why would StarClan send you an omen if something is already happening? Wouldn’t it be smarter to send it before?”

Vinepelt appeared to lose his temper, and he batted her head with sheathed claws. “Don’t question the will of StarClan! Now follow me, and please don’t say another word.”

Flowerpaw squinted her eyes in discomfort, head aching, and followed him out of the camp. “Should we be leaving all the sick cats behind? What if-”

“Flowerpaw!” Her mentor hissed, twisting around to bare his teeth at her. “What did I just say?”

“Sorry,” she grumbled.

\-------------

They tracked their clanmates’ scents outside of the territory, and Vinepelt began to look truly worried. Flowerpaw knew better than to speak, and kept her mouth shut as they plodded through unfamiliar trees. The snow had begun to whip up around them, the weather quickly becoming worse. 

They heard the battle before they saw it. As soon as the caterwauls of the cats reached them, Vinepelt hurried his pace and gestured for Flowerpaw to do the same. 

Flowerpaw felt a pang of relief that at least this wasn’t her first battle, as most medicine cats wouldn’t have had that experience. “Vinepelt,” she murmured, moving up to pad at his side, “am I allowed to fight?”

“Fine,” he muttered, not looking at her, “but if you see a cat that needs help, that takes priority.”

Flowerpaw dipped her head and hurried ahead of him. The clearing came into view, and without much thought, she launched herself at the nearest unfamiliar cat. 

Her world became a blur of fur and claws, and she barely registered the scrape of claws against her pelt as she viciously tussled with the cat. She landed a firm bite to his shoulder, and he let out a yowl of distress. She took the opportunity to jab her claws into the tender flesh of his belly, and he rolled away from her, running in the opposite direction.

She glanced around, only to see Sparrowstar trying to drag herself away from a ginger and white tom. She looked grievously injured, leaving a trail of bloodstained snow behind her as she inched along. One of her hind legs was torn to shreds, and she didn’t seem capable of walking with it. Vinepelt was nowhere to be seen, so Flowerpaw intervened, slamming into the tom’s side. He let out a gasp of surprise and fell to the ground, winded.

As she fought, her mind wandered. Somehow, she was able to detach herself from the throes of battle, going somewhere deep in her mind to think clearly. _ Maybe that sparrow  _ was _ a sign _ , she thought incredulously. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in StarClan. As a medicine cat apprentice, she had to, even though she’d had no experiences with them yet. However, she felt that a true sign from StarClan should be more obvious, something that was out of the realm of normal possibility.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as the tom raked his claws across her face. She let out a screech of pain, reeling backwards. She felt blood drip into her eye, and was suddenly blinded on her right side. She shut the eye quickly, praying that it had taken no damage.

A jolt of panic ran through her, and she twisted around to attempt to make up for this disadvantage. She knew that the ginger and white tom was standing on that side of her, so she quickly jumped to her right to put him back in her line of sight.

He looked self-satisfied, rumbling a mocking purr. “Not so confident now, are we, little she-cat?”

Flowerpaw spat at him. “I’m not afraid of you, foxdung.” Usually her bravado was true, but right now fear pulled at her paws. This tom was much larger than her, and she had lost half her vision.

Despite her dislike for her leader, she worried about her injury. However, based on her current situation, it wasn’t safe for her to look backward to see if she had gotten to safety.

The tom prowled around her, making her whirl around every time he entered her blind spot. “Your fighting skills are a little rusty,” meowed the tom judgmentally, as if he were a mentor critiquing his apprentice. “Has RainClan stopped training their apprentices?”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” hissed Flowerpaw, “but I’m the apprentice to the medicine cat.”

A spark of interest lit in the tom’s eyes, and Flowerpaw felt a small amount of hope that he would let her go. 

Instead, too fast for her to react, he leapt forward and grabbed her roughly by the scruff. She struggled, flailing relentlessly, but there wasn’t much that she could do to overpower the tom. She yowled for help, but it was drowned out by the battle around her, and there was no one to hear her cries as she was dragged away from her clanmates, deeper into the forest.


	26. Chapter 26

_ StarClan, this is truly not what I need right now.  _ Fawnpaw could barely focus on the opponent in front of her. The she-cat had just landed a harsh blow to Fawnpaw’s hind leg, and she could feel it threatening to collapse underneath her. 

“RainClan, retreat!” The screech behind her made her start, and she hobbled backwards as the she-cat tried to lunge again. She turned and made her way towards the call, realizing with a sinking feeling that the cat who was calling for the retreat was Vinepelt, and not their leader. If the battle had reached the point where the medicine cat was forced to call the cats to give up, the outcome certainly couldn’t be good. She brushed past him and caught up to Sundapple, who was supporting Daisypetal. The older she-cat appeared to have a throat wound. It couldn’t be too bad, as she was still able to walk with support, but she looked exhausted and weak. 

“Are you alright?” Sundapple looked at her apprentice with concern. “I was worried when I lost sight of you.”

“It’s a good thing that Vinepelt called us back when he did,” meowed Fawnpaw candidly. “I don’t know how much longer I could have fended off the she-cat I was fighting.” She gestured to her hind leg. “I haven’t gotten a good look at my leg yet, but it doesn’t feel good.”

Sundapple paused to readjust how Daisypetal was leaning against her. She gave her mother a comforting lick and then continued on next to Fawnpaw. “I’m sure that Vinepelt or Flowerpaw will patch you right up when we get back.”

_ She’s lucky, _ thought Fawnpaw, looking at her mentor.  _ It doesn’t look like she got any serious wounds. _ “Do you know where Sparrowstar is?” Fawnpaw asked the question hesitantly, worried about the fate of their leader.”

“I don’t know if she made it,” Daisypetal croaked, speaking up for the first time. “The last time I saw her… She didn’t look well.” The simple effort of speaking seemed to be too much for her, and she sagged against her daughter.

“How many lives does she have left?” Fawnpaw asked her mentor. It wasn’t as if she particularly liked Sparrowstar, but she didn’t harbor any ill will towards her.

Sundapple grunted under Daisypetal’s weight. “No one but Vinepelt and Sparrowstar know that. It’s a closely guarded secret.”

Fawnpaw was silent as she considered this. Maybe she was missing something, but wouldn’t it have been smarter for the Clan to know how many lives Sparrowstar had left? Then they’d be more ready to protect her if she was vulnerable.

These thoughts occupied her mind as they made their way through RainClan territory and into the camp. Cats immediately flocked to them, everyone talking at once. The other warriors who had returned from the battle were already being interrogated by their clanmates as to what was going on.

“Give them some space!” Heronfoot’s voice carried across the clearing, and he bounded over to murmur with Crowflight. He looked deeply concerned as they continued to exchange words, and then stood to address the Clan. “Vinepelt has stayed behind with Sparrowstar, who is seriously hurt. He is going to try his best to get her back to camp.”

The cats dissolved into concerned mutters, obviously upset. If Fawnpaw hadn’t been at the battle, she would have been just as bewildered as the rest of them. RainClan hadn’t fought a battle against another Clan in ages, and the idea of  _ losing _ a battle was beyond what many of the younger cats could comprehend.

They broke off into groups, surreptitiously murmuring to one another. Fawnpaw’s littermates scampered up to her, Thistlepaw moving a little slower than Pebblepaw.

“Your leg!” Pebblepaw started licking Fawnpaw’s injured leg, and she flinched at the harsh rasp of his tongue.

“Ow, stop!” She sat ungracefully, sticking her leg out and beginning to lick the blood out of her fur as gently as she could.

Thistlepaw looked at her with wide eyes. “What was battle like? Did you see anyone die?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” grumbled Fawnpaw. 

Pebblepaw let out a meow of indignation. “Come on, Fawnpaw! You’re so lucky that you got to be there. I was busy making sure that this useless lump didn’t collapse on his way to the fresh-kill stump.” He flicked his tail at Thistlepaw, who looked offended.

“I was fine on my own,” Thistlepaw grumbled.

Fawnpaw shook her head. “You guys are lucky you weren’t there. It was pure chaos, and I don’t know how I made it through.” Her gaze focused somewhere past her brothers as she remembered the heat of battle. “I killed a cat.”

“You  _ what _ ?” Thistlepaw, annoyance at his brother obviously forgotten, stared at her in awe. “A full grown cat? How?”

“It wasn’t just me.” Fawnpaw momentarily closed her eyes, trying to forget the taste of cat blood filling her mouth. “Sundapple and I were both fighting him. I just happened to be the one to land the killing blow.”

At that moment, Cloverstem practically barreled into Fawnpaw, startling her back into a standing position. She felt a stab of pain as the wound in her leg pulled, and relaxed as soon as she realized that her ‘attacker’ was just her mother.

“Oh, Fawnpaw, I was so worried about you!” Cloverstem covered her face in a barrage of licks, purring loudly. “Thank goodness you’re alright.”

Fawnpaw settled down with her mother and siblings, giving them a more in-depth explanation of the events leading up to the battle. The battle itself was a bit of a blur for her, but she told them what she remembered. 

\--------

The sun continued to sink lower on the horizon, filtering through the trees to give the snow an orange hue. The camp seemed to have calmed down slightly, but Fawnpaw still saw cats shooting furtive glances towards the camp entrance, waiting for their leader and medicine cat to return.

She had ended up having to give a toned-down story of the battle to the kits, as they had all crowded around her, begging her to tell them about it. Rosekit was past the age when kits would normally be due to become apprentices, due to Appleflower’s overprotectiveness, and the thought of fighting in a battle seemed to thrill her more than the other kits.

Fawnpaw flexed her hind leg, trying to alleviate the stiffness that had settled in. She’d gotten out most of the dried blood, but some still remained, and it crusted the fur around her wound. She needed a medicine cat to treat it, but there were none to be seen.  _ Flowerpaw must have stayed behind with Vinepelt, _ she thought.

She tried to think about the battle, but she didn’t remember seeing Flowerpaw at all. Her memory of the fight wasn’t the most reliable, as she’d been so focused on surviving, but she knew that Flowerpaw hadn’t been with Vinepelt when he’d called for the retreat.

She heard voices behind her and turned, seeing her clanmates crowding around the camp entrance. She pushed forward into the crowd, but couldn’t see anything over the full-grown warriors ahead of her.

Vinepelt’s shaky yowl rose above the clamor, his voice filled with emotion. “Sparrowstar is dead!”


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey there, I'm back. I had some pretty bad writer's block, and still do, but I'm trying to force my way through it. Hope you enjoy!

Sundapple’s breath caught in her throat. _ Dead? _ It didn’t seem real. Sparrowstar had been RainClan’s leader for Sundapple’s entire life, and even though she hadn’t always been the best leader, she was the sturdy foundation that held the Clan together.

The cats moved apart as Vinepelt stepped back into the thorn tunnel and reappeared dragging Sparrowstar’s limp body. Her dark brown pelt was crusted with dried blood, and her blue eyes stared at nothing. He pulled her to the center of the clearing and set her down in the snow, pinning his ears to his head and staring up plaintively at the sky. “She gave her life fighting for her Clan,” he murmured, seemingly more to himself than the other cats.

“Where’s Flowerpaw?” Larkfeather broke the silence that followed, stepping forward. Her blue and green eyes glowed with worry.

“Flowerpaw?” Vinepelt looked confused. “I thought she retreated with everyone else.”

Larkfeather looked like she was on the verge of panic. “We thought she was with you!” She gestured to her brother. “We’re going to go look for her. She could be hurt!”

“No.” Heronfoot stepped forward. “I am leader now, and we cannot risk any more cats being hurt.” Larkfeather looked like she was going to argue, but he cut her off with a wave of his tail. “I’m sorry, Larkfeather, but it’ll have to wait until morning. SmokeClan is still out there, and they are a real threat.”

Sundapple felt a stab of fear as she remembered the prophecy. If Flowerpaw was dead, how would the prophecy be fulfilled? She took a deep breath, resolving to talk to Vinepelt later. She feared for the destiny of her Clan, and the medicine cat would know the most about it.

She decided to leave the Clan to bicker and went to find Daisypetal. The she-cat lay in the middle of the warriors’ den, looking tired but not quite asleep. Sundapple had done her best to plaster cobwebs on her wound, but she needed Vinepelt’s attention as soon as possible.

“I was right,” muttered Daisypetal. “She’s dead.”

Sundapple dipped her head. “Yes. And Flowerpaw is missing.”

Daisypetal let out a surprised cough. “This battle was a bad idea from the start. No matter how many cats we have, SmokeClan will always be more vicious.”

“Mother, why did you never tell me about your family? I always assumed that you had been a part of RainClan for your whole life.” Sundapple made herself comfortable next to the ginger and white she-cat.

Daisypetal made a rumbling noise, somewhere between a purr and a growl. “After I joined RainClan, I vowed to myself to never speak of my past again. As I’ve said before, the past is the past. It does us no good to dwell on it.” She closed her eyes. “I was born before SmokeClan began trying to conquer the forest. Reedstar, my father, was a good leader, a true asset to his Clan. However, my mother was killed in an accident when I was still very young, and it drove him mad. Without his mate to temper him, Reedstar became power-hungry and cruel.” Daisypetal closed her eyes tightly, as if she could see her past in front of her. “Soon he began his campaign to conquer the forest. I was an apprentice when we destroyed FlameClan. That battle will haunt me for the rest of my days, and I will never forgive myself for the things I did that day.”

“You couldn’t have known any better,” Sundapple meowed tentatively. “You were only an apprentice.”

Her mother looked pained, shaking her head. She winced as it dislodged the cobwebs at her throat, causing a small amount of fresh blood to trickle into her white fur. “Even as an apprentice, I knew that what we were doing was wrong, and I took part anyways. I was too afraid to let my family and my Clan down. Graymask didn’t seem to see that. She embraced Reedstar’s campaign of destruction, and revelled in the carnage.

She looked at Sundapple pleadingly, as if begging her to understand. “What I did while in SmokeClan was wrong. I left before I became a warrior, begging Sparrowstar to allow me to join RainClan. She was gracious enough to allow me, even though she knew what I had been a part of.” Her eyes flashed. “I have worked every day since then to become a warrior that RainClan can be proud of. One who always does the right thing, no matter the consequences.”

Sundapple moved to give Daisypetal a brisk lick on the head, using her paw to press the cobwebs back to her throat. “I understand. I think that you’re braver than you know, going against all you were taught.”

“Thank you,” murmured Daisypetal.

“I’ll leave you to rest,” meowed Sundapple gently. She padded away, mind swirling with all that she had just learned. If Graymask was truly as cruel and ruthless as Daisypetal had described, then it would take all the strength that RainClan could muster to defeat her and her followers.


	28. Chapter 28

Flowerpaw wriggled as violently as she could, trying to escape from her captor’s strong jaws. “Let me go!” She couldn’t understand what this tom could want with her. She was only an apprentice, not a trusted senior warrior, and didn’t know any secrets that would give SmokeClan an advantage over RainClan.

The tom let out a muffled purr of amusement, keeping her scruff firmly held between his teeth. 

“Help!” She screeched again, but the sounds of battle were fading into the distance. 

He continued pulling her as her paws scrabbled along the forest floor. She could feel the twigs and debris scraping against her paw pads, but she couldn’t gain any traction. Eventually she stopped struggling, too exhausted by the battle to fight back any longer.

Eventually they arrived in a small hollow, closed in by trees growing tightly together. The tom dragged Flowerpaw roughly down the slope, pulling her towards a small cluster of cats at one side of the hollow.

“Scorchwind?” An older tom broke off from the group, padding over to the tom who held Flowerpaw. “What is this?”

Scorchwind spat out Flowerpaw abruptly and she collapsed to the ground. He placed a paw threateningly against her throat. “She’s a medicine cat apprentice,” he meowed. 

The gray tabby tom’s eyes widened. “StarClan has answered our prayers at last,” he murmured.

“What do you know about StarClan?” Flowerpaw spat. “You abandoned them long ago.”

The tom in front of her lowered his gaze. “We never abandoned StarClan,” he meowed. “They may have left us behind, but our faith has never wavered.” His yellow eyes glowed with emotion.

Scorchwind pulled away his paw and nudged her to get up. “One wrong move and I break your leg,” he hissed.

Flowerpaw flattened her ears to her head as she stood and shot him a hateful glare. “Why have you brought me here?”

Scorchwind moved to answer, but the gray tabby cut him off with a flick of his tail. “Our Clan has suffered greatly since we were driven from our territory. Our last medicine cat died before our Clan fell, and his knowledge died with him. He trained no apprentice, and our warriors had only limited knowledge of herbs. Anytime we are struck by disease, it devastates us.

“Your arrival is a blessing. With your help, we will be able to strengthen our Clan and return to our former glory.”

Flowerpaw dug her claws into the ground. “My ‘arrival’? I was  _ abducted. _ I don’t want to be here, and I refuse to help your measly excuse for a Clan.”

Scorchwind shouldered her out of the way. “Troutleap, it’s no use trying to reason her. We’ll have to break her down. She’ll cave eventually.”

Flowerpaw hissed. “I won’t. I was a warrior apprentice before I became a medicine cat. I’d rather die than help you.” The fur on her spine bristled.

Scorchwind let out another amused rumble, turning back towards her. “Strong words from a little apprentice.” He inclined his head towards the cats milling behind Troutleap. “Spottedshade. You’ll help Troutleap watch over her. I know you’ll be able to bring her around.”

A massive dark gray tom stepped forward, his amber eyes narrowed with what looked like malicious delight. “You can count on me,” he meowed. He prowled around Flowerpaw in a circle as Scorchwind bounded away, back into the trees. “What’s your name, little one?” He twisted the kind words into a mocking threat. 

Flowerpaw just stared at him, narrowing her uninjured eye right back at him.  _ I’m not going to let him scare me _ , she told herself.  _ They found Sundapple, and they’ll come and find me. Larkfeather would never leave me here to rot. _

Spottedshade sat comfortably and unsheathed his claws on one paw, carefully licking them. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I’m indifferent. It’s all up to you.”

“I’m not little,” spat Flowerpaw, unable to hold her tongue. “My littermates are already warriors.”

“Hm.” Spottedshade raked his gaze over her. “You look small and weak to me. Just tell me your name, and we’ll have made one another’s acquaintance.”

_ What’s the harm? _ Flowerpaw considered for a moment, and then decided to give in. “Flowerpaw.”

Spottedshade retracted his claws and stared intently at her. “Flowerpaw. What a pretty name. Now, Flowerpaw, you’re going to tell me and Troutleap all that you know about herbs, and you will share it again when Graymask returns from the battle.”

“No.” Her voice was quiet but firm.

“What was that?” Spottedshade’s voice dropped to a low hiss.

“I said no.” Flowerpaw closed her eyes, steeling herself for whatever was to come. If she gave SmokeClan her knowledge of herbs, they would become even stronger. She couldn’t risk endangering her own Clan like that. 

She let out a surprised yowl as Spottedshade knocked her to the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw him standing over her, Troutleap standing nearby. The older tom looked troubled, but not as if he was going to intervene. 

The powerful dark gray tabby standing over her lifted a paw threateningly. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?” His voice was thin and cold.

“I’m not going to tell you anything.” Flowerpaw cursed herself as she heard her voice waver with fear. 

“Fine.” Spottedshade slammed his paw down on her foreleg, and she instinctively bore her claws. Without making a sound, he swiftly dipped his head down, and she felt a searing pain as his teeth sank into the flesh above her claws. She let out a wild screech of agony. The pain she’d felt from the cut above her eye was nothing compared to this.

Her vision blurred for a few heartbeats as Spottedshade stepped away from her, and she felt the earth swaying beneath her. “What… What did you do?” Her voice was breathless, hardly more than a whisper. She rolled over as quickly as her body would allow her, gazing down at her paws. Her stomach roiled as she realized two of the claws on her left paw were gone, leaving only torn, mangled flesh where they should have been.  _ StarClan, help me! _

She looked up as Spottedshade drew a paw across his mouth, wiping away some of her blood. “Now, Flowerpaw, are you ready to talk?”


	29. Chapter 29

Fawnpaw sat next to Sundapple, the late evening chill sinking into her bones. Vinepelt had seen to her wound soon after his return, after seeing to the most seriously injured cats. It was now wrapped with cobwebs, with a finely chewed poultice pressed against the wound.

Alderheart limped up to them, his normally smooth coat criss-crossed by slashes. “Sundapple. Fawnpaw.” His green eyes were dull. 

Sundapple stood and pressed her nose to her littermate’s shoulder, not saying a word. 

“How was your first battle?” Alderheart directed the question at Fawnpaw.

Fawnpaw looked down at her paws. “Difficult,” she murmured. “I’m beginning to understand the sacrifices a warrior has to make.”

Sundapple let out an amused meow. “You sound like an elder, Fawnpaw!” She turned to Alderheart. “She did very well. Her fighting skills were just as successful in battle as they have been in training.”

Fawnpaw shot her mentor a grateful look. She didn’t want to talk about the battle more than she had to. She glanced over to where Heronfoot sat conferring with the senior warriors. Soon, he would go to the far corner of the camp to receive his nine lives, and be tasked with naming a deputy afterwards.

“Fawnpaw!” She turned quickly at the voice, nearly unbalancing herself and falling. Larkfeather stood by the warriors’ den with Mintleaf and Deerleap. Fawnpaw stood and waved her tail in farewell to Sundapple and Alderheart, going over to join the group.

As she reached them, Larkfeather glanced furtively around, as if making sure that no cat would overhear them. She turned her intense gaze to Fawnpaw. “We’re going to find Flowerpaw.”

“But Heronfoot said you couldn’t!” Fawnpaw felt a touch of discomfort at the idea of going against their leader’s wishes.

“Be quiet!” Deerleap’s voice was a low hiss. “We don’t want anyone to hear.”

Larkfeather swiped her tail across the snow. “We’re going. Whether you come or not is your decision. Mintleaf, come on.” She turned and headed towards the tunnel, brushing nonchalantly past the cats in the clearing.

The white tom gave Fawnpaw a hopeless shrug and followed his littermate, Deerleap at his side. 

_ I have to go, _ thought Fawnpaw. _ It may not be what Heronfoot wants, but it’s the right thing to do.  _ She took a bracing breath and loped unsteadily after them. 

As she caught up, Deerleap gave her a warm glance. “I knew you’d come around,” she purred.

They moved through the thorn tunnel without any trouble and emerged into the quiet forest. As they padded in the direction of the battleground, they heard a rustling in the bushes just ahead.

Larkfeather flattened her ears to her head, standing stock-still. “Who’s there?”

Finchstripe emerged from the undergrowth, stalking haughtily to stand a tail-length from Larkfeather. “Where do you think  _ you’re _ going?” He rumbled.

“None of your business,” hissed Larkfeather, her voice filled with hatred. “Get out of our way.”

Another voice chimed in from behind Finchstripe. “Larkfeather, how dare you address a senior warrior that way.” Eagleclaw picked his way down a small slope near where they stood. Fawnpaw noticed that his tan fur was pristine, showing that he hadn’t participated in the battle. His good eye darted around, taking in the cats in front of him. 

Deerleap shouldered past Larkfeather to confront the two toms, and Fawnpaw nervously shifted her weight from side to side.

“Eagleclaw,” started Deerleap, “let us through. I’m leading this hunting patrol, and unless you’ve forgotten, I’m your senior.” 

Eagleclaw hissed. “Heronfoot hasn’t sent out any hunting patrols since the battle. I know what you’re doing, and neither Finchstripe nor I are going to let you jeopardize the safety of the Clan for your silly little rescue mission.”

Larkfeather lashed her tail in anger, stepping forward. Deerleap stopped her with a sharp glare. “Don’t speak to me like that. You can’t stop us.”

Finchstripe let out a sharp snort. “We may not be able to stop you, but it would surely be a shame if someone mentioned to Heronfoot that you were directly defying his orders. You’re one of the top candidates for deputy, after all.” The tom leaned back on his haunches and drew a tan paw nonchalantly over his ear. 

“Deerleap,” Fawnpaw swivelled her head to where Mintleaf stood beside her. His voice was quiet, and he looked nervously between his littermate and the older she-cat. “Maybe we should just go back. I’m sure that Heronfoot will send cats after Flowerpaw as soon as it’s safe.”

Larkfeather rounded on the smaller tom, the fur on her spine standing up. “You’ve always been a coward, Mintleaf, but you’re really willing to abandon your sister like that? She could be hurt! She could be dying!” 

Fawnpaw held her breath. She had never heard Larkfeather speak like this. The she-cat was usually so level headed, but right now she almost sounded like Flowerpaw.

The white tom cowered, his belly brushing the snowy ground, almost looking like he was trying to blend in. His green eyes were wide with fear, and Fawnpaw could see him trembling. 

“Stop!” The yowl came from the direction of the camp, and Fawnpaw gulped as she saw Heronfoot approaching with Crowflight at his heels. “What’s going on?” His meow was demanding.

Fawnpaw scuffled her paws. She couldn’t give away the fact that they had been about to disobey their new leader’s orders. He certainly wouldn’t be happy that members of his Clan were trying to undermine his authority on his first night as leader. “We were going to go hunting,” she started, “but I said I was too tired from the battle.”

Heronfoot stared at her levelly, his amber eyes unreadable. “Where is your mentor, Fawnpaw?”

“Back at camp. She was busy.” She knew that her excuse was flimsy, and wouldn’t be surprised if the leader punished her.

Deerleap came to stand at her side, brushing her tail across the apprentice’s back. “Sundapple gave me permission to take her out. We were about to head back, but we ran into Eagleclaw and Finchstripe and were talking to them.”

Heronfoot dipped his head, obviously believing the words of his senior warrior. “Fine.” He glared at Larkfeather and Mintleaf. “You two. Go back to camp, and stop bickering!” The long legged tom turned, and over his shoulder he called, “Deerleap, I need to speak with you privately.”

Fawnpaw stumbled after the other cats as they trod in a line back to camp, her fur prickling as she felt the gazes of Eagleclaw and Finchstripe following her until she moved out of sight.


	30. Chapter 30

Mist swirled around Sundapple, the ground covered with springy grass that felt cool underpaw. She looked around with confusion. It was leaf-bare, and the ground should be covered with snow. _Where am I?_

She took a tentative step forward, an eerie quiet stretching around her. There were no crickets chirping in the bushes, no birds making soft noises in the trees. However, the silence didn’t feel dangerous, as one would expect that it might. She decided to walk, since she didn’t recognize any of her surroundings. As she began to wind her way around leafy shrubs and tree roots, she heard a shuffling behind her. She whirled around, only to see Stonetail standing there, his glossy gray coat shining in the starlight that filtered through the trees. “Father!” She looked around again, and everything began to make sense. She was in StarClan, where her ancestors walked in eternal greenleaf.

He dipped his head. “I am glad to see you again. I come with another warning.”

Sundapple lashed her tail. “I don’t understand why you’re coming to me and not Vinepelt. Even Flowerpaw, if she’s alright.”

“We could,” acknowledged Stonetail, “but StarClan knows that you are the cat best suited to carry this warning. You are destined for more than you realize, Sundapple.” He gazed past her, into the trees. “The Clan is in danger, Sundapple. But the danger you can clearly see is not all that exists.” He locked eyes with her, his gaze filled with a burning passion. “The greatest threat of all may come from within RainClan itself.”

Sundapple opened her mouth to reply, but the starry forest was already dissolving around her. 

“Wake up, Sundapple!” The uncomfortable sensation of a paw jabbing her midsection made Sundapple jerk her head up. Fawnpaw stood over her, looking stressed.

“What’s wrong?” Sundapple yawned, still half immersed in her dream.

“Nothing. Heronstar called a meeting. He’s going to name a deputy.”

Sundapple stood and shook scraps off moss from her pelt, following her apprentice out of the warriors’ den into the clearing. It wasn’t long past dawn, but the sun was already brutally shining down on the snow, making it almost too bright to look at.

Heronstar sat on the fallen tree, overlooking his Clan. She could have been imagining it, but he almost looked stronger, imbued with the energy of StarClan after receiving his nine lives. She hoped that he would bring more order to the Clan than Sparrowstar had, as a strong leader would be imperative if they were going to be victorious over SmokeClan.

The cats were milling around the clearing, and Sundapple noticed that some of the sick cats, including Sumactail, had rejoined the rest of the Clan. She sent a prayer to StarClan for their recovery. 

Heronstar yowled for the attention of the Clan. “Cats of RainClan. I have three orders of business to attend to. First, I must name a deputy to serve our Clan.” His gaze swept the clearing, settling on a seal point she-cat. “Deerleap, you will be the new deputy of RainClan.”

Murmurs of congratulations rose around her, but no cat sounded particularly surprised. Deerleap was a senior warrior, well-liked and respected by her clanmates.

“Secondly,” the leader started, “Thistlepaw will be assigned a new mentor.” He looked coldly down at Finchstripe, who sulked near the back of the crowd. 

Thistlepaw weakly pushed to his feet from where he sat with his littermates, walking slowly to the front of the Clan.

“Rabbitnose,” meowed Heronstar, “you will be Thistlepaw’s new mentor. May you teach him to be honorable and brave.” He shot another angry glance at Finchstripe.

The charcoal gray tom approached Thistlepaw, touching his nose gently to the smaller cat’s and murmuring something quietly in his ear.

The spotted tabby looked hopefully up at him, appearing to perk up even in his weakened state. 

“Thirdly.” Heronstar’s eyes glimmered with emotion. “I would like to give my apprentice, Thornpaw, his warrior name. He has been ill, but he is doing well enough for the ceremony.”

Thornpaw tottered slowly from where he had been laying by the spruce tree, his ribs showing even through his thick winter coat. He stopped by the base of the fallen tree, appearing too weak to jump up.

Heronstar leapt down from the tree, abandoning the ritual location in order to provide the ceremony to the apprentice.

Sundapple scrunched up her nose. Thornpaw had missed a good amount of training, and she figured his warrior ceremony was more about the fact that his mother had just died, and less about actually having completed his training. Even though he was older than Larkfeather and Mintleaf, he hadn’t seen battle yet, and wasn’t as prepared for the duties of a warrior. She tried to banish the negative thoughts from her mind. It was Heronstar’s first day as leader, and he probably wanted to bolster the Clan by naming a new warrior.

“You have worked hard in your apprenticeship, showing bravery and strength.”

_Those are quite nice words to describe being a bully,_ thought Sundapple, thinking back to Thornpaw’s nasty attitude when she herself had been an apprentice. 

“I have seen you grow throughout your apprenticeship, and I know that you are more than ready to become a warrior. Thornpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and put loyalty to your Clan above all else?”

“Yes,” whispered Thornpaw, his voice weak and croaky.

“Then Thornpaw, I name you Thornwhisker, full warrior of RainClan.” He pressed his nose to the newly named warrior’s. 

Thornwhisker sagged to the ground, sitting still, as if he were too exhausted to move.

Heronstar flicked his tail to dismiss the Clan, and Sundapple made her way to her apprentice, who had gone over to talk to her brothers. “Fawnpaw, how’s your leg?”

The she-cat glanced at her injury, giving the leg a shake. “Could be better, could be worse. Why, do you need me?”

Sundapple sighed. “I figure we should go hunting. What with injuries from the battle and greencough, there aren’t many able warriors.”

“Fine.” Fawnpaw stood, turning her green gaze to her brothers. “Pebblepaw, want to come?” She looked at Thistlepaw apologetically. “I think you’ll have to stay here.”

“Sure,” meowed Pebblepaw. “I’ll get Sumactail, she told me this morning that she’s ready to start training again.”

The three cats made their way towards the warriors’ den, Sundapple hoping that the danger to her Clan from the inside would wait to strike. They needed time to recover before disaster struck again.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

Freezing snow crusted Flowerpaw’s fur, but she was too cold to even shiver. The snow had started again in the two days since she had been taken, and the icy wind tore through her fur. She couldn’t feel her paws anymore, which she supposed was a good thing. Spottedshade had mutilated them beyond recognition before abandoning her beneath the leafless bush where she now lay. The last night had been brutal, and she didn’t know how she was still alive. She hadn’t eaten since before the battle, and the sour pangs of hunger in her belly had long since ebbed into a dull ache that encompassed her entire body.

Troutleap still sat next to her, his shoulders hunched against the wind. He shot her nervous glances from time to time, as if making sure that she were still breathing.

She had watched the SmokeClan cats trickle back into the camp after the battle. They had looked injured but triumphant, and Flowerpaw was terrified of what could have happened to her clanmates.

As the night ended and the sun began to filter through the trees, Spottedshade emerged from the shelter of tree roots to sit and observe her. “You’re still alive,” he murmured. “You must be stronger than I thought.”

Flowerpaw flattened her ears and mustered a weak hiss. 

“If you want to live, I’d suggest you just give up and talk. We’ll get the information with or without you, and you’ll save yourself a lot of pain.”

Flowerpaw released the air from her lungs in a long wheeze, trying to get her paws underneath her to stand but collapsing back onto the snow. “Please, don’t let me die,” she whispered.

Troutleap swished his tail, looking pleadingly at Spottedshade. “We need to get her somewhere sheltered. Graymask will have my pelt if she dies.”

The massive tom shrugged his shoulders, looking indifferent. “Fine. Do what you will with her.”

Troutleap grasped Flowerpaw gently by her scruff, dragging her bloodied body across the snow and into the shelter of an abandoned fox den. When he had pulled her fully into the hole, he began to roughly lick her fur backwards. “I need to get you warm,” he muttered between licks.

She winced as his tongue rasped across her wounded paws, sparks of pain shooting up her legs as the feeling began to return to them. “That hurts,” she hissed.

“I’m sorry,” the gray tabby tom paused in his efforts, looking at her with genuine sympathy in his eyes, “but if I don’t clean them, they’re going to become infected. Spottedshade did a lot of damage.”

Flowerpaw struggled up into a sitting position, the returning blood flow in her limbs allowing her to stiffly move. “That tom is a menace,” she grumbled, staring daggers at him. “He enjoys causing pain.”

He glanced away, flattening his ears to his head. “I don’t like him. But Graymask values him as a warrior, and she isn’t likely to change her mind.”

“Your Clan is terrible,” she meowed flatly.

Troutleap at least had the sense to look ashamed. “I don’t agree with everything they do. But they are my Clan, Flowerpaw, and I must remain loyal to them. All we ask is to be afforded the same respect as any other Clan.”

She snarled. “You forfeited your right to respect when you slaughtered FlameClan!” This tom didn’t seem likea bad cat, necessarily, but by following SmokeClan’s corrupt leadership, he was just as bad as the others. “If you had wanted respect, you should have come to one of the other Clans to join them.”

“I was too young to participate in the battle when our Clan fell. Most of my clanmates were born after we were driven out. They aren’t bad cats, you have to understand. Just desperate.” The tom paced away from her. “I need to go talk to Graymask. Please, for your own sake, open up to her.” He exited the den, his white feet leaving bloody paw prints in the dust.


	32. Chapter 32

A thin wail broke the silence of the camp, waking Fawnpaw abruptly from a deep sleep. She whipped her head up, glancing around her. Pebblepaw’s icy blue eyes glinted back at her. 

“What’s going on?” Her brother’s voice was low, but she could hear the edge in his mew.

“I don’t know.” Fawnpaw got to her feet, padding unsteadily out of the apprentices’ den. She could hear Pebblepaw on her tail. Thistlepaw still lay in the medicine cat’s den, being carefully monitored by Vinepelt. It was nowhere near dawn, the moon still shining high above the camp, but she could hear murmurs coming from the pine tree where the remaining sick cats were being isolated. 

She started as a black shape pelted across the camp, then relaxed when she realized it was only Vinepelt. The tom’s fur stood in sharp contrast to the bright snow, and he skidded to a stop a few tail-lengths from Willowleaf, who was hunched by the tree.

He looked down, and without saying a word, laid his tail on the she-cat’s shoulder.

“He’s dead!” Her voice wavered as she called out, filled with grief. “Pinekit is dead!”

Fawnpaw felt Pebblepaw sag at her side, filled with sadness at the loss of another clanmate. He pressed against her, and she thanked StarClan that her littermates were still with her.

_ If we can’t protect our kits, who can we protect? _ Fawnpaw nudged her brother, herding him back towards their den. “Come on. We’ll leave her to grieve. There’s nothing we can do now.”

They returned to their den, curling up in their soft nests. Fawnpaw’s paws tingled with the knowledge of her own mortality, and thoughts of death plagued her until she finally plunged into sleep.

\----------------------

She awoke with the sun, padding outside while the sky was still tinged with pink. Snow fell from the sky, adding to the drifts that already carpeted the forest floor. Looking around the clearing, she headed to where she could see Deerleap talking with some of the warriors, organizing patrols. 

“Fawnpaw,” Sundapple flicked her ears at her apprentice. “Just in time. You’ll be on a border patrol with me, Cricketcall, and Eagleclaw.”

Fawnpaw felt a stir of apprehension in her belly at the mention of the tan tom. Their encounter the other day had made her realize how vindictive the tom was.  _ He may hide it better than Finchstripe, but he’s just as nasty, _ she thought. 

She matched pace with her mentor, feeling her legs wobble as they walked quickly out into the forest. Eagleclaw walked in front of them, his tail flicking back and forth.

“We’ll start at the MossClan border,” he meowed gruffly, veering towards the hill that led in the direction of their ally.

They needed to patrol their borders more carefully now that SmokeClan had returned. Both RainClan and MossClan had become lax in protecting their borders, as they rarely saw any serious trouble, but now there was a real threat in the forest.

Fawnpaw struggled to keep up with the other cats, her forepaws churning in the snow as she tried to maintain her balance. Irritation struck her as she realized that Eagleclaw was purposely speeding up, trying to leave her behind.  _ He knows I can’t move as quickly as he can, _ she thought angrily.

Sundapple maintained herself a few cat lengths in front of Fawnpaw, glancing back every few heartbeats to make sure she still followed.

Fawnpaw huffed and puffed as she careened after the patrol, feeling completely unbalanced. The trees whisked past her, and she didn’t know if she’d ever moved this fast in her life. It didn’t help that the snow was swirling around them, pushing back against her as she moved forward. She tried to focus on every pawstep, determined to prove herself to the warriors. _ I don’t need help, _ she thought. _ I’ll be just as competent a warrior as the rest of them. _

They finally slowed at the border, Sundapple signaling for her to be quiet with her tail.

“Nettletail!” Eagleclaw called out into the forest ahead. Fawnpaw couldn’t see who he was speaking to. “Can we speak with you?”

A slender brown and white tabby slipped out from where he blended against the snowy bushes. He dipped his head to the patrol. “How can I help you?”

Three other cats trailed behind him, looking curiously over the border.

“Have you seen SmokeClan?” Cricketcall blurted the words out before Eagleclaw could speak, flinching when the older tom gave him a scathing glare.

“SmokeClan?” Nettletail exchanged a worried look with a gray tabby who had moved to stand at his side. “What are you talking about?”

“They have returned to the forest.” Eagleclaw’s voice was the most emotional that Fawnpaw had ever heard. She couldn’t tell if he genuinely meant what he was saying, or if he was simply trying to make the MossClan cats feel bad for them. “RainClan were forced into a devastating battle, and we lost Sparrowstar. Heronstar is the leader of our Clan now.”

Nettletail once again shot a glance at the tom next to him, but his eyes were filled with more than just concern.  _ Is that fear? _

The gray tabby bowed his head to Eagleclaw. “MossClan grieves for you. We haven’t seen SmokeClan, but we will be sure to tell our patrols to be wary.”

Fawnpaw pushed past Sundapple to stand in front of the two toms. “Have you seen a calico she-cat? She went missing after the battle.”

Eagleclaw hissed quietly at her. “Ignore her,” he muttered. “She’s just a stupid apprentice, speaking out of turn.”

“Don’t speak to my apprentice that way!” Sundapple moved forward until she was nose to nose with Eagleclaw, her ginger fur fluffed out. “Let her ask the question.” She let her fur fall flat again, but continued to glare at the tom.

The gray tabby tom looked cautiously between the quarrelling clanmates, his ears pricked with concern. “We have not seen your missing cat,” he mewed to Fawnpaw. “I’m sorry.”

Flashing a glance at the rest of the cats in his patrol, Needletail gestured for them to go. “We must continue our patrol. I’ll pass on what you’ve told us to the rest of our Clan.” Without another word, the cats disappeared into the snowy forest.

Cricketcall, obviously uncomfortable after the exchange, shook the snow off his black pelt. “Is it just me, or were those cats acting strange?”

Sundapple turned away from Eagleclaw, obstinately taking the head of the patrol. “They certainly were. And we’re going to find out why.”


	33. Chapter 33

The camp entrance was quiet as the evening fell into night, but Sundapple still felt on edge. She was on guard for the night, and even the smallest noises coming for the forest made her fur bristle.

_ I need to do something _ , she thought. Her paws itched to find out what was going on. She knew that she had to get Flowerpaw back one way or another, and she wanted to know what was wrong with MossClan. Flowerpaw was essential to the prophecy, and every day that went by without her, Sundapple was filled with more and more fear about their Clan’s future.

Furtively glancing around, she ensured that no cats were out of their dens. _ I’ll only be gone a short while. Hopefully, they won’t even notice.  _ She crept across the camp, trying to stay as much in the shadows as possible. However sure she was that she was the only cat awake, she couldn’t risk being caught leaving her post. The warriors’ den loomed in front of her, and she slipped through a crack in the side that she knew was closer to her brother’s nest. She nudged his ginger form ever so slightly, praying to StarClan that he didn’t make a noise.

“Hm?” The tom raised his head sleepily, looking confused. “It’s not time for the dawn patrol yet, is it?”

Sundapple crooked her tail for him to follow her, ducking back out of the den without a word. She knew he’d had a long day, and felt bad for waking him up, but she needed his help. 

A few moments later, he stumbled out of the den, pelt ruffled. “What is it?” He hissed half-heartedly.

“I need you to guard the camp while I go out,” she whispered, trying to sound confident. “If anyone asks, say I’m at the dirtplace. I shouldn’t be gone long.”

Alderheart gave her an irritated glare, his eyes flashing in the moonlight. “Fine.” Before she could respond, he cut her off, sweeping his tail across her mouth. “I don’t want you to explain. It’ll be better if I don’t know.”

Sundapple shrugged, finding no fault in his words. She blinked gratefully at her littermate and turned away, loping into the forest. The snow muffled her footsteps, and she leaped from place to place, trying to avoid the deepest drifts. The journey to MossClan territory felt shorter than she expected, but perhaps it was just the anticipation tingling in her paws. 

As she approached the camp, she slowed, surveying the territory around her. The thicket of grapevines that shielded the camp from enemies was covered with thorns, creating an impenetrable wall of undergrowth. She sighted the tunnel that served as the main entrance to the camp, but knew that using it wasn’t an option now. They would have a guard on watch, ready and willing to sound the alarm at the sight or scent of a strange cat.

Instead, she crept around the edge of the camp, finding a tree that seemed to loom over it. She dug her claws into the bark, hoping that she wouldn’t fall, and began to shimmy up the tree. She let out a sigh of relief as she reached the lowest branch, balancing carefully as she hopped to the next. When she had reached a height that satisfied her, she moved closer to the end of the branch, looking over the barrier into the MossClan camp.

A reddish-brown and white she-cat sat with her shoulders hunched in the middle of the clearing, her body almost concealing the bundle of tabby fur crumpled in front of her.  _ Is that a dead cat? _ Sundapple’s stomach dropped. _ Has SmokeClan been here as well?  _ In her shock, she took a misstep, plummeting from the tree with a gasp of surprise. She landed in a large drift of snow, the breath knocked out of her. 

Flexing her claws and gingerly getting to her feet, she relaxed as she realized that she wasn’t hurt. But before she could make her escape, a quiet voice sounded from nearby. “Who’s there?”

Sundapple flattened herself to the ground, cursing herself for her bright ginger pelt. There was no way for her to blend into her surroundings, and she braced herself for a fight. “I’m from RainClan,” she muttered, her ears flat to her head. 

“I thought so,” murmured the voice, and the same she-cat she had seen before melted out of the shadows. “Why are you here?”

Sundapple sighed, straightening up. This she-cat didn’t seem too threatening. “I was on patrol earlier when we met some MossClan cats. They were acting strange, so I wanted to see what was wrong. Heronstar doesn’t know I’m here.”

“Yes, I heard that Sparrowstar had passed,” mewed the she-cat thoughtfully. She looked directly at Sundapple, appraising her with pale blue eyes. “I am Whiterose, medicine cat of MossClan.”

Sundapple looked away, the intense stare making her uncomfortable. “My name’s Sundapple. I’m sorry that I intruded. I hope that you’ll forgive me.”

Whiterose cocked her head. “You’re forgiven. Now follow me. I’d like to speak with you.”

Confusion filled her, but Sundapple got up and followed the medicine cat without arguing. Hopefully she would receive the answers that she had come here for.


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four

The dark gray she-cat sat in front of Flowerpaw, a stony expression on her face. A nervous-looking younger tom stood a few tail-lengths behind her, his tail swishing back and forth.

“I told you,” meowed Flowerpaw exhaustedly, “that’s all I know. I’ve only been a medicine cat apprentice for a few moons.”

Graymask studied her, amber eyes narrowed with suspicion. 

Every moment that the silence stretched between them was agonizing. Flowerpaw couldn’t take any more pain. All the claws on her right front paw were gone, leaving the limb a useless mess. They had been bitten too far back to ever grow back, and Flowerpaw seethed with fury at the knowledge that she would be crippled for life. “Please,” she meowed, desperate. “I just want to rest.”

“Fine,” grunted Graymask. “You’re not going anywhere for a while with that foot. You can help us in the meantime.” She flicked the stump of her ear and padded out of the den.

The young brown tabby tom stepped forward, seeming to relax with Graymask’s exit. “I’m Coyotepelt,” he mewed. “They told me I’m to watch over you.” 

Flowerpaw looked him over. “You’re a bit young to be a warrior, aren’t you?”  _ He’s certainly younger than me, _ she thought.

He scuffled his paws in embarrassment. “I was the runt of the litter.” He looked up and fixed her with his striking yellow gaze. “I’m perfectly capable, so don’t think you can get away from me.”

“As long as you’re not planning on biting off any more of my claws, I’m sure we can be great friends,” Flowerpaw meowed dryly. She looked down at her paw. The little that Troutleap had done to clean it had been made obsolete by the new wounds, and the fact she lay in a dusty burrow. 

Coyotepelt moved cautiously closer to her. “Can I help? I don’t want that to get infected.”

She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “Don’t be too rough,” she warned.

He leaned down and began to clean the wound carefully. The blood stained his white muzzle, still oozing out of her paw.

Flowerpaw winced as he groomed the grit out of the wounds. “Do you have any herbs?” She doubted that they did, but it was worth asking. 

He raised his head, twitching his whiskers thoughtfully. “Splashpelt might. She knows the most about herbs, but that isn’t saying much. I know that she used most of what she had on our warriors after the battle.” He continued to groom her paw, only stopping when the worst of the dirt and blood had been removed. He glanced toward the entrance to the den and back. “If I go, can you promise not to run? I’ll only be gone for a few heartbeats.”

Flowerpaw flexed her mutilated foot, wincing at the pain. “I don’t think I’m going anywhere.”

“Fine.” The brown tabby stood, and with one more nervous glance at Flowerpaw, he quickly trotted out of the den. 

Alone at last, Flowerpaw’s shoulders slumped. She had been trying to stay strong, but the pain was getting to her. She didn’t know where her clanmates were, and she had been praying that they had survived the battle. No cat had told her anything about RainClan’s fate, except to gloat about SmokeClan’s victory over them. She felt horrible for telling Graymask what she wanted to know, and knew that Sparrowstar would gut her for betraying her Clan. 

All too soon, Coyotepelt slipped back into the den, holding a mouse in his jaws. He was followed by a black and white she-cat with cobwebs wrapped around one paw. She bore a nasty gash on her shoulder, though it looked clean and treated.

The she-cat spat a bundle of herbs on the ground. “I’m Splashpelt,” she mewed briskly. Her green eyes widened slightly at the sight of Flowerpaw’s paw, but she didn’t say anything. “I have some yarrow. It’s old, but it will have to do.” 

“Goldenseal would be better,” Flowerpaw muttered. “Yarrow is good for stopping bleeding, but goldenseal prevents infection.”

Splashpelt dipped her head in acknowledgement. “I’ll keep that in mind when new-leaf comes. Here.” She began to chew the shriveled stems into a poultice, plastering the goop on Flowerpaw’s wound when she finished. She then unwrapped the cobwebs from her paw and wrapped the wound.

Flowerpaw was thankful that at least something was being done to help her, even if SmokeClan had caused the problem in the first place. 

A yowl came from the clearing, and Splashpelt perked her head up. “I’ve got to go. Let me know if you need anything else.” She rushed out into the sunlight. 

Coyotepelt dropped the mouse at Flowerpaw’s paws, nudging it towards her. “Here. You need to get your strength up.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a baleful glare before tearing into the mouse. However kind he might be, he was still one of her captors. If he were truly good, he would have freed her by now.

Seeming to notice her unhappiness, he flattened his ears and retreated to the other side of the den. He seemed submissive, but Flowerpaw knew that he was still watching her. Her survival depended on SmokeClan now.


End file.
